CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what commitment she has received from the Mayor of London to provide support for the staging of the 2012 Olympics in London;
	(2)  if she will publish the Ove Arup report on the likely cost of a bid to stage the 2012 Olympics;
	(3)  what commitment she has received from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to provide public funds to support the staging of the 2012 Olympics in London.

Richard Caborn: The summary of the Arup report on the costs and benefits of bidding for and staging an Olympic games in London 2012 will be published on 1 November 2002. Copies will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The report estimates the cost of staging the Olympic games at #2 billion and the cost of bidding at #13 million. We have learnt that the risk associated with hosting an event of the magnitude of the Olympic games is significant and it is our responsibility to the tax payer that this risk is properly assessed.
	All stakeholders and relevant Government Departments, including the GLA and the Treasury, are analysing this report and the Government will give careful consideration to the costs, benefits and risks involved before we announce our decision on whether to support a bid to host the games in 2012. We aim to make that decision by the end of the year.

2012 Olympics

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the ARUP report on the costs and benefits of staging the 2012 Olympic games in London; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The summary of the Arup report on the costs and benefits of bidding for and staging an Olympic games in London 2012 will be published on 1 November 2002. Copies will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
	This report has been commissioned jointly by my Department, the London Development Agency, the British Olympic Association and UK Sport.
	The report estimates the cost of staging the Olympic games at #2 billion, and the cost of bidding at #13 million. We have learnt that the risk associated with hosting an event of the magnitude of the Olympic games is significant and it is our responsibility to the tax payer that this risk is properly assessed.
	All stakeholders and relevant Government Departments are currently analysing this report and the Government will give careful consideration to the costs, benefits and risks involved before we announce our decision on whether to support a bid to host the games in 2012. We aim to make that decision by the end of the year.

Departmental Logo

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the design of her Department's logo.

Kim Howells: The logo, and the visual identity of which it is a part, was introduced in February 1999 following the Department's name change. The identity was designed to improve the consistency and distinctiveness of DCMS communications and to achieve better value for money in design and print purchasing.
	The introduction of the identity resulted in year on year savings of over 25 per cent. on the procurement of the Department's printed stationery.

Gambling

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the level of problem gambling in the UK.

Richard Caborn: The most recent authoritative estimate remains that noted in the report of the Gambling Review Body (Cm 5206), that between 0.6 per cent. and 0.8 per cent. of the adult population of Great Britain are problem gamblers.

Job Advertisements

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many non-devolved posts were advertised in the press in each year from June 1999; and what percentage of them were advertised in the Scottish press.

Kim Howells: holding answer 24 October 2002
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not advertised any post in the press since June 1999 which deals exclusively with departmental responsibilities which extend to Scotland.

Radio Industry

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her assessment of the impact of the Communications Bill on the independent radio industry.

Kim Howells: Our general approach to the radio industry, and to communications markets in general, is deregulatory. Format controls and ownership restrictions will both be relaxed. However, we recognise the importance of maintaining the distinctive local basis of commercial radio. We therefore propose to retain key local ownership rules, and to give Ofcom a duty to protect and promote local content.

Rate Relief

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) charities and (b) sports clubs on rate relief; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Government announced in April that community amateur sports clubs will now be eligible to apply for charitable status, under which they would receive mandatory 80 per cent. rate relief and other tax advantages. The recent Finance Act 2002 also included a package of tax reliefs available from the Inland Revenue that will benefit such clubs.
	In July, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met several of sport's governing bodies, as representatives of community amateur sports clubs, to discuss these measures and other issues. In September, my Department arranged a seminar which was designed to give sport's governing bodies the chance to discuss the tax and charitable status options available to amateur clubs. Since the Budget, my Department has met representatives from Sport England, the Central Council of Physical Recreation and the National Playing Fields Association on a number of occasions to discuss these issues. I will continue to work with these organisations and with governing bodies to agree the best way forward for helping these clubs.

Tourism

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proposals she has for the reform of Government support for tourism; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: I announced new arrangements for support for tourism in the English regions on 13 May. Since then I have agreed with the Regional Development Agencies that they are ready to implement this, corporate planning guidance has been issued about how the RDAs should plan for the new tourism responsibilities and further planning work is in hand.
	I also proposed changes for the English Tourism Council and to improve the co-ordination of marketing activity for England. I have decided to achieve this by a radical reform of the existing support structures, and there are two aspects to the announcement that I make today.
	The first will result in a strengthening of the marketing of Britain in overseas tourism markets. This will be of direct benefit not only to England but also to Scotland and Wales. I had already asked the new Chief Executive of the British Tourism Authority, Tom Wright, to carry out a fundamental review of strategy and structure of support for British tourism overseas. The emerging conclusions point to increasing effectiveness with a structure based on dedicated new hubs for each major market and less emphasis on central services. More resource will be concentrated where it is needed most, that is in the overseas markets served by the BTA. I will also improve the accountability arrangements for BTA in co-operation with other GB Tourism Ministers.
	The second aspect of my announcement concerns the need for better co-ordination of the marketing of England as a tourism destination in the GB market. We wish to combine some of the day-to-day operations of the English Tourism Council with the BTA. These two organisations have served tourism well, but combining their resources and strengths allows us to develop more quickly the marketing team for England we need. This will also enable us to put more resource into direct support for tourism and less into overheads. We will take this opportunity to develop more effective partnerships with private industry investors to support tourism. We will pursue our commitment to the sustainable development of tourism, particularly in rural areas, some of which are still in recovery following the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
	Accordingly, I am today asking Tom Wright to broaden the BTA reform programme and to draw up detailed plans for a further unit to lead and co-ordinate the marketing of England, promoting destinations to customers within our own country. Funding for this activity, and other activities of the relaunched national organisation in support of English tourism, will be accounted for and reported to Parliament separately from action in overseas markets on behalf of all three parts of Britain.
	In England, I see a major leadership role for both the private sector and the Regional Development Agencies in developing a coherent marketing agenda across the industry. The new marketing team for English tourism within the relaunched national organisation will be guided by a slimmed down English Tourist Board, drawing on support from the private sector and regional and local government. The broad remit for its work has been drawn up by a group drawn from the private and public sectors, which was fully endorsed at a meeting I chaired of a wide range of tourism bodies at the beginning of August. The team will have responsibility for working closely with RDA and other partners to make the most of the public funds available to support marketing and promotion.
	I have asked Alan Britten and David Quarmby, the chairs of the existing boards, to work closely together to ensure the new arrangements are implemented quickly and effectively. Staff from both organisations will be treated on an equal and fair basis, taking full account of their own skills and experience and the requirements of the new arrangements. I have asked them to make recommendations about the new name when they have made further progress on the reforms.
	I am also announcing additional funding for tourism services in England. #10 million over three years is available, but will only be released on the effective implementation of reform, on industry rising to the challenge by coming together with matching funds, and the delivery of increased productivity we are looking for in the tourism industry.

DEFENCE

Anthrax

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if the anthrax innoculation programme offered to (a) Navy, (b) Army, (c) Air Force and (d) other Ministry of Defence personnel is compulsory;
	(2)  what proportion of (a) Navy, (b) Army, (c) Air Force and (d) other Ministry of Defence personnel (i) are fully vaccinated and (ii) have commenced a vaccination programme against anthrax; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: In keeping with long-standing medical practice, immunisation against anthrax for the Armed Forces and other Ministry of Defence personnel is voluntary and on the basis of informed consent.
	Up to and including September 2002, the period for which most recent figures are available, approximately 46 per cent. of personnel offered immunisation against anthrax had accepted. Broken down by the categories requested this equates to (a) Royal Navy 28 per cent. (b) Army 78 per cent. (c) Royal Air Force 46 per cent. and (d) other Ministry of Defence Personnel 61 per cent. Thus far, immunisation against anthrax has been targeted at a small number of personnel in the most readily deployable units. As approximate proportions of their total strengths, excluding reserves, this equates to (a) Royal Navy, 0.7 per cent. (b) Army 0.4 per cent.; (c) Royal Air Force, 4.5 per cent.; and (d) other Ministry of Defence personnel 0.2 per cent.. Information concerning individuals' current anthrax immunisation status is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	Earlier this year we announced a decision to expand the programme so that all service personnel, including reserves, and those essential civilians who are likely to deploy on operations are routinely offered immunisation against anthrax. We plan to expand the programme gradually over the next few years, beginning with those units that are held at the highest readiness. I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave on 13 June 2002, Official Report, columns 1343–44 to the hon. Member for High Peak (Mr. Levitt).

Arms Sales

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) countries and (b) organisations outside the UK to whom sale of arms and arms components is prohibited.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The United Kingdom has arms embargoes in place in respect of the following countries pursuant to European Union sanctions: Bosnia/Herzegovina; Libya; Burma; Sudan; China (not full scope); the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.
	The United Kingdom has arms embargoes in place in respect of Armenia and Azerbaijan pursuant to Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe sanctions. There is also a unilateral arms embargo in place in respect of Iran (not full scope).
	Although the scope of the embargo varies from country to country depending on the wording of the source instrument, arms embargoes are in general implemented in the UK by prohibiting the export of goods and technology on the Military List. The Military List forms Part III of the Export of Goods (control) Order 1994 as amended.
	An up to date list of all export restrictions applicable in the UK is available on www.dti.gov.uk/export. control.

Arms Sales

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to ensure that arms and arms components sold abroad are not acquired by (a) countries and (b) organisations outside the UK to whom sale of arms and arms components is prohibited.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	Exports of arms and other goods controlled for strategic reasons are subject to export licences issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. All individual licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Exporting Licensing Criteria. Criterion 1A of the consolidated criteria makes clear that the Government will not issue a licence if approval would be inconsistent with the UK's international obligations and its commitments to enforce UN, OSCE and EU arms embargoes, as well as national embargoes observed by the UK.
	The Government focus their efforts on assessment of potential end-use at the export licensing stage. This includes checks made by our posts overseas where necessary. Carrying out effective risk assessment on end-users before making the export licensing decision is the surest way of preventing arms from falling into the wrong hands. In addition the Government remain committed to carrying out end-use monitoring of exports in those circumstances where this will genuinely add value to our efforts to minimise the risk of misuse and diversion and where such monitoring is practicable. Our overseas posts have standing instructions to report on allegations of misuse of any UK-origin defence equipment. We take these reports into account in our assessment.
	Officials from across Whitehall co-operate to pursue possible breaches of sanctions in the UK and abroad. Breaches involving the sale of UK arms and components sold abroad are thoroughly investigated by the relevant authorities.

Correspondence

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the statement by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 17 October 2002, Official Report, column 570, when the letter to the hon. Member for North Essex on the relationship between NATO and the European Security and Defence Policy will be sent; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Adam Ingram: I replied to the hon. Member on 30 October.

D-Day (60th Anniversary)

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparations will be made for the 60th anniversary of D Day; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Although preparations have not been concluded, the intention is for the Government and Armed Forces to be represented at ministerial and senior officer level at parades and services in Normandy being organised by the French Comité du Debarquement. The Army will provide a band. Appropriate representation will also be provided at a service of remembrance and thanksgiving which will take place at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Doctors

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many doctors were serving in (a) the RAF, (b) the Army and (c) the Royal Navy in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: The number of military trained doctors in the Royal Navy, Army and RAF as at 1 April in each of the last five years are shown in the table:
	
		
			 Year Royal Navy Army RAF 
		
		
			 1998 209 431 207 
			 1999 209 437 197 
			 2000 211 452 185 
			 2001 215 459 183 
			 2002 224 473 181

EU Defence

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the question raised in the note by Mr. M Barnier to members of Convention, CONV 264/02, as to whether an undertaking of collective defence should be enshrined in the Treaty on European Union.

Geoff Hoon: The Government's policy, and the policy to which the EU collectively committed itself at the European Council of Nice in December 2000, is that NATO remains the basis for the collective defence of its members.

EU Defence

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the effect of enlargement on military contributions to the EU designated peacemaking and peacekeeping forces.

Geoff Hoon: All the countries which are candidates for accession to the EU have made offers of contributions, with a view to their participation in EU-led operations. These countries could already offer forces to an EU-led operation, if invited to take part. When a country joins the EU, it simply removes the need for a formal invitation for that country to take part in EU-led operations.
	Procedurally, there is also a change. The offers from member states are recorded in the Helsinki Force Catalogue; those of accession candidates in a supplement to the catalogue. This catalogue identifies the pool of capabilities, meeting commonly-agreed requirements, from which forces can be rapidly assembled on a case-by-case basis for particular operations, with the approval of the relevant national governments.

European Security and Defence Policy

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the definitions of (a) European Security and Defence Policy and (b) European Security and Defence Identity.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 March 2002, Official Report, column 31W.

Gibraltar

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the restrictions imposed by the Spanish Government on the movements of NATO military aircraft and warships in the vicinity of Gibraltar and in transit between Spain and Gibraltar; and what steps have recently been taken by the UK Government to have these restrictions lifted.

Adam Ingram: NATO Standardised Agreement (STANAG) 1100, sets out the procedures for visits to NATO and non-NATO ports by naval ships of NATO nations. This Agreement contains a reservation, inserted by the Spanish Government, which prevents visits by NATO ships to or from Gibraltar directly to or from Spanish ports. Any request by military aircraft from NATO (or other) nations, which has Gibraltar as a departure or arrival airfield, to overfly or land in Spain is routinely denied by Spanish authorities. We understand that NATO has no plans specifically to discuss the restrictions imposed by Spain on NATO ships and aircraft. Discussions between the British and Spanish Government in the context of the Brussels Process aim to resolve all outstanding issues between the United Kingdom and Spain over Gibraltar.

Health Care Professionals

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) nurses, (b) GPs, (c) medical consultants and (d) other health care professionals working for the NHS are subject to military call-up as reservists in the event of military action.

Lewis Moonie: Although the Ministry of Defence encourages reservists to declare their reserve status to civilian employers, there is no legal requirement to do so unless specified in individual contracts of employment. Reservists are not usually required to provide details of any civilian employment to the Ministry of Defence, until such time as they are called-out. Therefore, no records are available for the number of nurses, GPs, medical consultants and other healthcare professionals that are working in the NHS who are subject to military call-out as reservists.
	However, it is possible to provide the number of volunteer reserve nurses, GPs, consultants and other healthcare professionals in the Defence Medical Services (DMS) as at September 2002, and this is outlined in the following table:
	
		
			 Volunteer reserves in the DMS Number 
		
		
			 Nurses 1,278 
			 GPs 96 
			 Consultants 103 
			 Other healthcare professionals 2,065 
		
	
	In addition, ex-Regular personnel with a reserve or recall liability can be subject to military call-out.

Joint Maritime Course

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason HMS Marlborough and HMS Northumberland have been withdrawn from the Joint Maritime Course off Scotland.

Adam Ingram: HMS Marlborough and HMS Northumberland have not been withdrawn from the Joint Maritime Course. HMS Marlborough is currently taking part in this training. HMS Northumberland was not scheduled to take part in the Course. She is undertaking safety training prior to her planned period of Operational Sea Training which begins in early November.

Medical Reservists

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the call-up of medical reservists; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: It is vital that service personnel deployed on military operations receive the appropriate level of medical support. The use of reservists for operations is fully in line with the tenets of the Strategic Defence Review, namely having more capable, usable, integrated and relevant reserve forces that support their regular counterparts on operations overseas. The need to call-out reservists is kept under review as part of contingency planning. If reservists are called out, we would select the most suitably qualified individuals for mobilisation by taking into account their relevant skills, fitness and training, and their professional and domestic circumstances. The Ministry of Defence would work closely with the NHS Trusts concerned to minimise disruption as far as possible.

Medical Specialists

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medical specialists, and in which specialisations, the Department requires in order to meet operational requirements.

Lewis Moonie: The Operational and Retained Task requirement for medical specialists and the number of consultants we have in those categories, and in which specialisations, as at 1 July 2002, are set as follows:
	
		
			  Operational and retained task requirement Current manning (including command and staff appointments) Deficit 
		
		
			 Vocationally trained general practitioners 416 195 221 
			 General surgery 43 18 25 
			 Orthopaedic surgery 28 11 17 
			 General medicine 51 20 31 
			 Anaesthetics 120 23 97 
			 Accident and emergency 23 3 20 
			 Dermatology 0 3 — 
			 Paediatrics 5 2 3 
			 Genito-urinary medicine 0 1 — 
			 Neurology 1 0 1 
			 Obstetrics and gynaecology 3 0 3 
			 Urology 0 3 — 
			 Burns and plastic surgery 10 3 7 
			 Psychiatry 35 10 25 
			 Ophthalmology 10 3 7 
			 Oral and maxioolofacial surgery 10 7 3 
			 Ear, nose and throat 10 3 7 
			 Rheumatology and rehabilitation 7 6 1 
			 Radiology 11 10 1 
			 Pathology 6 5 1 
			 Chemical pathology 4 0 4 
			 Haematology 4 1 3 
			 Histopathology 0 2 — 
			 Microbiology 6 2 4 
			 Aviation medicine 6 1 5 
			 Occupational medicine 61 43 18 
			 Public health medicine 2 8 —

Military Crisis Management

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements have been concluded that will allow the non-EU European NATO members and other countries which are candidates for accession to the EU to contribute to EU military crisis management.

Geoff Hoon: The EU is committed to the fullest possible involvement of the non-EU European Allies and the EU accession partners in the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). A supplement to the Helsinki Force Catalogue has been drawn up, detailing offers of contributions made by these states with a view to their participation in EU-led operations. The Nice European Council agreed at substantial set of provisions governing consultation with these countries and arrangements for their participation in EU-led operations. As a result, they now attend regular ESDP meetings at a number of levels. In the event of a crisis, this dialogue and consultation will be intensified. In particular, it was confirmed at Nice that Xupon a decision by the Council to launch an operation, the non-EU European NATO members will participate if they so wish in the event of an operation requiring recourse to NATO assets and capabilities. They will, on a decision by the Council, be invited to take part in operations where the EU does not use NATO assets. Other countries who are candidates for accession to the EU may also be invited by the Council to take part in EU-led operations once the Council has decided to launch such an operation". More detailed modalities concerning non-EU European NATO members were agreed at the European Council in Brussels last weekend. Thursday 31 October 2002PQ Ref No 5558M

Military Medical Records

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether all service personnel have direct access to their military medical records; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Under the Data Protection Act 1998, personnel are able to request access to their service medical records by making a subject access request. For access to primary health care records, the request should be made to the appropriate Royal Navy, Army or Royal Air Force Service Records Office. For access to secondary health care records, the request may be sent to either the appropriate service records office, the hospital they were treated at, or to the Ministry of Defence Central Health Records Library.

Military Medical Records

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action has been taken to ensure that all military medical records will be accurately maintained and secured; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Every effort is taken to ensure that service personnel medical records are accurately maintained and securely stored. All three services have routine administrative procedures in place to check that the medical records of both regular and reserve personnel are both up to date and accurate.

Pension Schemes

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to amend the Armed Forces pension scheme to allow benefits to be paid to partners of service men and women killed on active service; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 30 October 2002
	In the light of support for change expressed in response to public consultation and to a series of focus groups across the Armed Forces, consideration is being given to introducing pension benefits for unmarried partners as part of our review of the Armed Forces pension scheme. The Ministry of Defence will be seeking to finalise approvals on the new scheme around the turn of the year. Those who decide to remain in the current pension scheme would not benefit from any change. Under a similar review of current compensation arrangements, consideration is being given to extending benefits for attributable deaths to unmarried partners as part of a new scheme.

Royal Navy Submarine Crews

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers and (b) men the Royal Navy requires to crew the submarines in service with an adequate margin of reserve to ensure full continuity of operations; and how many are available.

Adam Ingram: As at 1 August 2002, the Royal Navy Submarine Arm required 254 officers and 1,959 ratings to man submarines in service.
	On the same date, 834 officers and 3,670 ratings were required to man the Submarine Arm as a whole. The equivalent strength figures were 629 officers and 3,552 ratings. The shortfall is borne by a range of support and training functions ashore and is currently the focus of a range of recruitment and retention initiatives.

Service Personnel (Illness)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are not serving because of illnesses acquired on deployments in (a) Sierra Leone, (b) Saif Sareea, (c) Afghanistan, (d) Kosovo and (e) Macedonia; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: The number of Army personnel discharged as a result of illness following deployment to Sierra Leone and Kosovo, is one and seven respectively. No Army personnel were discharged as a result of illness to the other deployments listed. No personnel were recorded as having been discharged as a result of these deployments from the Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force.

Suez Campaign (Medals)

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) terms of reference, (b) membership and (c) date for final report are of the committee chaired by Lord Guthrie to examine the case for a service medal for veterans of the Suez Canal Zone campaign from 1951 to 1954.

Lewis Moonie: The terms of reference are as I announced in a written response to a Parliamentary Question on 23 July 2002, Official Report, column 1106W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Mr. Bob Russell). The sub-committee of the HD Committee under the chairmanship of General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank will report on the case for an exceptional award of a GSM for the Suez Canal Zone without creating a wider precedent or breaching long-standing principles which underpin the making of such awards.
	The sub-committee will consist of the chairman plus Field Marshal Sir John Chapple GCB CBE; Air Vice Marshal K D Filbey CBE FIMgt FRAes RAF; Charles de Chassiron CVO Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps and Head of Protocol Division, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; the military historian Sir Max Hastings and Gay Catto, Ceremonial Officer, Cabinet Office.
	The sub-committee is necessarily independent of the Ministry of Defence and as such I have no visibility or authority over their proceedings. I am advised that the sub-committee has yet to take evidence after which it will fully consider the options. When it has reached a conclusion on the matter, it will report to the HD Committee which in turn will publish the results.
	The Ceremonial Branch of the Cabinet Office are acting as secretariat to the sub-committee.

Weapon Thefts

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what category of weapons have been (a) lost and (b) stolen from MOD units and establishments in each year since 1972.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 October 2002
	Ministry of Defence records show a total of 354 weapons to have been lost, and 802 weapons stolen, since 1972. 262 weapons have been recovered during this period. Only the Army and Royal Marines records go back as far as 1972. Royal Navy records go back to 1993 and the RAF to 1991. The detailed year-by-year since statistics were provided is set out in the tables.
	
		Lost, stolen and recovered MOD weapons by type from 1 January 1972 to 28 October 2002(Lost weapons register
		
			 Year Pistol Mil. Rifle SMG LMG/ GPMG Mortars Antique/ other Shot gun Baton gun Tgt Rifle (Sport) Total 
		
		
			 1972 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1973 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1974 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1975 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 
			 1976 2 2 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 
			 1977 8 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 
			 1978 5 6 20 0 0 0 0 1 0 32 
			 1979 9 4 17 0 0 0 1 1 0 32 
			 1980 10 6 12 1 0 0 2 0 0 31 
			 1981 11 5 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 25 
			 1982 4 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 
			 1983 9 7 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 27 
			 1984 2 4 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 19 
			 1985 3 7 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 22 
			 1986 0 7 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 11 
			 1987 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 
			 1988 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 1989 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 
			 1990 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 1991 1 6 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 11 
			 1992 7 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 
			 1993 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1994 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 1995 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 1996 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1997 1 1 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 22 
			 1998 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1999 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 2000 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 
			 2001 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 2002 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 
			 Totals 101 79 135 3 8 2 23 3 0 354 
		
	
	
		Stolen weapons register
		
			  Pistol Rifle 9mm SMG LMG/ GPMG Mortars Antique/ other Shot gun Baton gun Tgt rifle (sport) Total 
		
		
			 1972 16 44 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 75 
			 1973 13 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 
			 1974 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1975 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 1976 10 101 3 7 2 0 0 0 0 123 
			 1977 7 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 
			 1978 6 12 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 20 
			 1979 9 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 
			 1980 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 
			 1981 6 15 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 23 
			 1982 12 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 
			 1983 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 
			 1984 6 19 5 5 0 2 0 0 0 37 
			 1985 9 33 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 47 
			 1986 5 20 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 29 
			 1987 16 38 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 58 
			 1988 11 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 26 
			 1989 2 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 
			 1990 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 1991 6 4 0 0 3 15 0 0 4 32 
			 1992 15 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 21 
			 1993 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 28 
			 1994 4 13 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 24 
			 1995 3 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 10 
			 1996 6 16 0 0 0 12 0 0 6 40 
			 1997 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 
			 1998 3 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 
			 1999 0 9 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 12 
			 2000 21 2 0 0 0 10 7 0 2 42 
			 2001 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 
			 2002 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 
			 Totals 211 428 37 21 7 50 10 0 35 802 
		
	
	
		Recovered weapons register
		
			  Pistol Mil rifle SMG LMG/ GPMG Mortars Antique/ other Shot gun Riot gun Tgt rifle (sport) Total 
		
		
			 1972 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1973 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 1974 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 1975 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1976 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1977 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1978 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1979 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1980 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
			 1981 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 
			 1982 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 1983 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 
			 1984 4 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 
			 1985 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 1986 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 1987 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 
			 1988 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 1989 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1990 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 
			 1991 2 3 1 1 0 30 0 0 0 10 
			 1992 7 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 14 
			 1993 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 
			 1994 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 
			 1995 2 7 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 13 
			 1996 7 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 
			 1997 5 12 0 1 0 0 20 0 0 39 
			 1998 3 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 11 
			 1999 3 11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 
			 2000 12 3 0 0 1 6 1 0 0 23 
			 2001 6 6 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 14 
			 2002 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 
			 Total 82 116 16 5 6 14 23 0 0 262 
		
	
	Note:
	SMG(9mm Sub-Machine Gun. LMG(Light Machine Gun. GPMG(General Purpose Machine Gun

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Affordable Housing

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on affordable housing in villages in rural England in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Tony McNulty: Information in the form requested is not available immediately. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the information is collated.

Education Facilities

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidelines he issues to local authorities considering the construction of new educational facilities on (a) green belt and (b) metropolitan open land; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Guidance on all aspects of development in the green belt, including new educational facilities, is set out in planning policy guidance note (PPG) 2, green belts. Designated metropolitan open land has the same status as green belt, and the planning policies set out in PPG2 will also apply to such land. New educational facilities in the green belt will be subject to the same controls as other development in the green belt and proposals will need to demonstrate that very special circumstances exist, which outweigh the harm caused to the green belt by the development, if they are to be granted planning permission.

Fireworks

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the use of fireworks on (a) the environment and (b) wildlife; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do take the issue of fireworks seriously. On 14 October 2002, Official Report, column 890W, my hon. Friend the Minister for Consumer Affairs announced a package of measures which the Government are introducing to address the problems that fireworks can pose to humans, to the environment and to wildlife.
	In terms of air pollution, a burning firework may produce particulate matter, organic compounds (including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and furans), and a variety of metal fumes and aerosols, depending on its contents. The effects of bonfire night celebrations can certainly be detected in local air quality, but is very dependent on local atmospheric conditions at the time, and the most significant source of emissions is likely to be bonfires rather than fireworks.
	In relation to wildlife, there is little research evidence on the immediate effects of bonfire night on wildlife. Fires and loud noises can have a disturbing effect on animals of any kind, but bonfire night celebrations are short-lived and relatively localised in nature.

Housing (Enfield)

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the amount of brownfield land in (a) the London Borough of Enfield and (b) Greater London for the construction of new dwellings; how many new dwellings could be constructed; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: From the 2001 National Land Use Database of Previously Developed Land (NLUD-
	PDL) an estimated 2,500 hectares of brownfield land were potentially suitable for housing in London. On the figures supplied by local authorities and current density assumptions they could provide 149,000 dwellings.
	The most recent information for Enfield is from its return for the 1998 survey. This showed 49 hectares of brownfield land potentially suitable for housing. At densities current at the time they could provide about 2,300 dwellings.
	In 2001 23 out of the 33 London Boroughs returned information to NLUD-PDL. The information has been grossed up to provide the estimates for London as a whole quoted above.

Housing Corporation

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was allocated in housing grants in each year since 1997 to the Housing Corporation; and how many houses were built as a result.

Tony McNulty: The table shows the amount of grant paid by the Housing Corporation to registered social landlords under the approved development programme (ADP) and local authority social housing grant (LASHG) together with the dwellings completed in each year for these programmes:
	
		Approved development programme
		
			  Gross ADP expenditure # # million Dwellings completed 
		
		
			 1997–98 678 35,418 
			 1998–99 602 31,960 
			 1999–2000 635 25,040 
			 2000–01 715 22,354 
			 2001–02 773 22,875 
		
	
	
		Local authority social housing grant
		
			  LASHG expenditure # million Dwellings completed 
		
		
			 1997–98 363 10,152 
			 1998–99 335 9,929 
			 1999–00 328 8,678 
			 2000–01 400 8,419 
			 2001–02 410 6,971 
		
	
	Because of the length of time to complete development, no comparison can be made between funding and completions in any one year.

Housing Developments

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he intends to bring forward to raise the density of new housing developments in London and the South East.

John Prescott: In my Parliamentary Statement of 18 July on sustainable communities I announced the Government's intentions for tackling the housing shortage in London and the South East. The Statement explained that the Government expects the housing numbers already agreed in regional planning guidance for the South East to be delivered, working within the presumption of making better use of land by improving design, increasing densities and using brownfield sites to the full. In the Statement, I announced I would intervene in planning applications for housing that involve a density of less than 30 dwellings per hectare net. 1 am publishing today the Town and Country Planning (Residential Density) (London and South East England) Direction 2002 which gives effect to this announcement. From 2 December local planning authorities in London and the South East will have to consult me before giving planning permission for low density housing developments.

Local Authority Lettings

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department has made available to implement a more flexible lettings policy by local authorities; and how much each rural local authority received in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Tony McNulty: We are currently funding 27 local authority pilots of choice based lettings. #13 million was allocated in April 2001 towards the pilots which are expected to finish in April 2003. Out of these, four rural authorities are being supported and payments to date are as follows:
	
		# 
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Payments to all 27 pilots 4,208,532 1,724,377 
			 Harborough 167,371 114,199 
			 Herefordshire 49,283 18,818 
			 Kennet 145,612 32,179 
			 Restormel 82,097 18,845

Mobile Phone Masts

Peter Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether (a) planning permission and (b) public consultation is needed in order for phone companies to erect antennae on buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO) (as amended) grants a general planning permission for licensed telecommunications code system operators to install specified telecommunications apparatus without the need to apply for planning permission to the local authority, subject to certain conditions and limitations.
	The installation of an antenna on a building, where the antenna does not exceed the height of the building by 4 metres or more, would normally be regarded as permitted development and would not therefore require an application for planning permission or statutory public consultation.
	All mobile phone antennas are registered with the radiocommunications agency. Information on the location and ownership of the antennas is available on the Agency's Site Finder database at www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk The site is updated every three months.

Mobile Phone Masts

Peter Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government has to introduce regulations restricting the ability of phone companies to erect base stations close to residential properties, schools and hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Mobile phone mast development close to residential properties, schools and hospitals is subject to the normal telecommunications planning arrangements in place throughout England, set out in Part 24 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO). Following publication of the Stewart report on mobile phones and health in May 2000, these arrangements were significantly strengthened and include improved requirements for consulting local people about mast proposals. The changes to the GPDO were underpinned by revised guidance, set out in planning policy guidance note 8, telecommunications, published in August 2001.
	The Stewart report did not recommend that the erection of mobile phone masts should be restricted in such areas and we have no plans to introduce specific restrictions. However, in respect of masts near schools, PPG8 advises that before an operator submits an application for planning permission or prior approval for a mast near a school or college they should discuss the proposed development with the relevant body of the school or college.

Mobile Phone Masts

Peter Pike: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many representations he has received on health issues relating to mobile phone masts; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Between January and October this year, the former Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received centrally 166 letters from Members of Parliament and 165 letters from members of the public and local planning authorities about the amenity or health aspects related to mobile phone masts.

Neighbourhood Renewal Unit

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he intends to publish the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit's Annual Review.

Barbara Roche: I have today published the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit's annual report, copies have been placed in the libraries of the House.

Parish and Town Councils

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those parish and town councils which have reported to him that they have had councillors resign rather than sign the new Standards Code.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Standards Board for England together have been informed of 95 resignations of parish councillors who were unwilling to accept the new Code of Conduct. A list of those parish councils is as follows:
	
		
			 Authority Number of resignations 
		
		
			 Aiskew parish council 1 
			 Arborfield and Newland parish council 1 
			 Ashby Woulds town council 1 
			 Baschurch parish council 1 
			 Boddington parish council 2 
			 Bradworthy parish council 1 
			 Brenk Knoll parish council 1 
			 Brockdish parish council 4 
			 Bunwell parish council 1 
			 Butleigh parish council 2 
			 Chineham parish council 1 
			 Credebhill parish council 2 
			 Cutcombe parish council 1 
			 Easebourne parish council 2 
			 East Carlton parish council 3 
			 Epsom and Ewell borough council 1 
			 Fowey town council 1 
			 Frensham parish council 1 
			 Great Notley parish council 1 
			 Hampstead Norreys parish council 2 
			 Haversham cum Little Linford parish council 1 
			 Holcome Burnell parish council 2 
			 Holt parish council 2 
			 Hungerford town council 3 
			 Idmiston parish council 1 
			 Kings Ripton parish council 2 
			 Little Waltham parish council 5 
			 Melsonby parish council 1 
			 Mereworth parish council 2 
			 Midgham parish council 1 
			 New Romney town council 1 
			 Northchapel parish council 3 
			 Norton parish council 1 
			 Old Windsor parish council 1 
			 Over Haddon parish council 1 
			 Potton town council 2 
			 Purton parish council 2 
			 Ringmore parish council 1 
			 Shinfield parish council 3 
			 Snarestone parish council 1 
			 Speldhurst parish council 1 
			 St. Bees parish council 2 
			 Stebbing parish council 2 
			 Streatley parish council 1 
			 Sulhamstead parish council 1 
			 Swanton Morley parish council 3 
			 Tittleshall parish council 1 
			 Tiverton parish council 2 
			 Town council of Frinton and Walton 1 
			 Warfield parish council 1 
			 West Ilsley parish council (the whole council) 6 
			 Westleton parish council 1 
			 Wookey parish council 1 
			 Wysall and Thorpe-in-the-Glebe parish council 3 
			 Unnamed parish in East Suffolk 2 
			 Unnamed parish in Kendal 1 
			 Total 95 
		
	
	There is no requirement for parish councils to inform us of resignations, for whatever reason. There are over 8,000 parish councils in England.

Parish Councillors

Simon Burns: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many parish councillors there are in the West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency; and how many have notified his Department that they have resigned from their parish councils as a result of the introduction of a code of conduct for parish councillors.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally. Nine parish councillors from four parish councils in Essex have told the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or the Standards Board for England of their intention to resign.

Planning

David Cameron: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he currently expects to implement proposals in the planning green paper about public consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Government is developing its plans for implementing the planning reforms including in public consultation, which were set out in the policy paper Sustainable Communities—Delivering through Planning. Some of those plans require primary legislation and we will be seeking to introduce legislation at the earliest opportunity.

Planning

Chris Mole: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to streamline the procedure governing planning enforcement appeals.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend will tomorrow lay before Parliament five statutory instruments to improve the handling of planning enforcement appeals under each of the three main procedures: written representations, hearings and inquiries. These are the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement Notices and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2002; the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) Regulations 2002; the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Hearings Procedure) (England) Rules 2002; the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2002; and the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Determination by Inspectors) (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2002.
	A departmental circular (ODPM 02–2002), XEnforcement Appeals: Procedures", which explains the new procedures, is to be issued to accompany the new statutory instruments. Copies are to be placed in the House Libraries. The changes implement the conclusions of a consultation exercise announced in August 2000.
	The new arrangements, due to come into operation on 23 December 2002, implement the Government's commitment to improve the Planning Inspectorate's service to its customers, and to increase the efficiency of the enforcement appeals process by reducing both the cost and time taken. In introducing these changes, the Government recognise that it is vital to maintain a system which ensures that there is fair and open decision-making and that all parties have the opportunity to put their case, resulting in decisions that are legally sound and of the highest possible quality.
	We have already set tough targets for the Planning Inspectorate to turn round enforcement appeals more quickly, and they have made a good deal of progress in improving their own performance. However, improving service to the benefit of all concerned is not just the responsibility of the Planning Inspectorate. All parties to the enforcement appeal process have a responsibility to meet the deadlines set and to co- operate with the inspectorate in agreeing dates offered for hearings and inquiries. The new procedures will put in place a regime of discipline for all parties involved in the process by setting clear timetables and deadlines for the various stages. In future, representations sent after due dates will normally be disregarded. We intend to monitor the impact of the changes, and will review their effectiveness to help us decide whether any further action is needed.

Post Offices

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to protect post offices in areas of urban deprivation.

Barbara Roche: The Government announced their commitment to set up Xa #15 million fund to sustain and improve post offices and associated retail facilities in deprived urban areas" in the 'Urban White Paper', which was published in November 2000.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is seeking to launch the scheme in the autumn of 2002, with receipt of first applications early in 2003.
	The proposed scheme will seek to contribute to the regeneration and renewal of urban deprived areas through sustaining and improving sub-post offices. Where sub-post offices face risk of closure, it is expected to support:
	improvements relating to core post office services;
	improvements relating to the development of non-post office facilities; and
	improvements to a sub-postmaster's working conditions, particularly to deter violent and other crime.

Public Sector Contracts

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the code of practice covering the recruitment of new staff on public sector contracts;
	(2)  what progress he has made towards ending the two-tier workforce in local authority services; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The Government recently consulted on a code of practice and new statutory guidance which will ensure that all local authority service contracting takes proper account of the need for a high quality workforce in order to deliver high quality services. The consultation period ended on 6 September; we are currently considering the responses, with the aim of publishing the code and guidance shortly.

Public Spaces

Brian White: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish his report on public spaces; and when he will respond to the report of the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce.

John Prescott: I am today publishing "Living Places—Cleaner, Safer, Greener", the Government's report on public space at the Urban Summit. The report draws upon the work of six government departments. The report also includes the Government's response to the report of the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce. Copies of the report have been placed in the library of the House.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce financial incentives and penalties to encourage achievement of regional targets for renewable energy; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: These targets are regionally owned. Advice on achieving them in the context of land use planning will be included in the proposed Planning Policy Statement 22 (renewable energy), on which we will consult fully. We are examining more generally the role of local and regional bodies in delivering energy policy objectives as part of the on-going work for the Energy White Paper, which is due to be published in the new year.

Westminster City Council

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, 
	(1)  how the costs on the District Auditor's Office inquiry into the sale of dwellings by Westminster Council will be distributed; how much other local authorities will be charged to cover the costs; and if he will make a statement.
	(2)  what he estimates the cost of the inquiry into housing sales by Westminster City Council will be to the Office of the District Auditor; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The auditor's investigation leading to his decision in 1996 that six individuals had caused a loss, through wilful misconduct, of some 31million to Westminster City Council, and to issue surcharge certificates against those individuals, cost approximately 3 million. Those costs were met by Westminster City Council.
	The auditor's costs in the subsequent litigation (during which the Divisional Court set aside the auditor's surcharge in respect of four of the six individuals) leading to the decision of the House of Lords in December 2001, to uphold the surcharge against Dame Shirley Porter and David Weeks, were met by the Audit Commission. The total of the auditor's litigation costs to this point was around 4.5million. Westminster City Council is currently taking legal action to recover the amount of the surcharge and costs. The final costs of the investigation and litigation will not be known until the outcome of those proceedings.

Starter Home Initiative

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each local authority will receive from the #200 million Challenge Fund as part of the Starter Home Initiative.

Tony McNulty: The Challenge Fund (which is not part of the Starter Home Initiative) has been set up within the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme in 2003–04 to provide 4,000 homes for rent and low cost home ownership in south-east England. Bids for the Challenge Fund were invited from registered social landlords by 18 October. Dependent upon the bids received, a proportion of the homes will be for key public sector workers. We hope to announce the outcome of the bidding process in November.

Public Relations

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list external (a) public relations/communications companies, (b) advertising and marketing companies, (c) management consultancies, (d) accountancy companies, (e) banking firms, (f) individual consultants and (g) other specialist consultancies used by his Department since June 2001; what actions those consultancies/companies have performed within his Department; and what costs have been incurred through use of these consultancies/companies.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley to the hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 28 October, Official Report, column 735–36W.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

National Tests (Cheating)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken to gather evidence about cheating in national tests for 11-year-olds; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The QCA reports to the Department each year on the incidence of malpractice and maladministration in national tests. Both the Department and QCA take all complaints about malpractice very seriously. QCA works closely with LEAs to investigate and monitor reported incidents. Even anonymous complaints are recorded and monitored. QCA works very closely with LEA inspectors who conduct thorough checks throughout the test process. Investigations of malpractice can involve a review of scripts from a school, interviews with teachers, talking to children and drawing on advice from experts in the field depending upon the nature of the allegations.
	In 2002, 479 cases of alleged malpractice or maladministration across the three key stages were reported, leading to the annulment of the results of seven schools. Of these seven schools, four had the results in one subject annulled, two the results in two subjects and one the results in all three subjects.

National Tests (Cheating)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent guidance his Department has given the QCA on preventing cheating in national tests for 11-year-olds.

David Miliband: The Department's remit to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority includes the maintenance of a robust, reliable and credible examination and assessment system. As part of its role in overseeing the administration of statutory assessments, it is for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to approach the Department with proposals for minimising the incidence of malpractice and maladministration in the national tests.
	The QCA will continue to keep its processes under review and to advise the Department accordingly.

National Tests (Cheating)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will set up an inquiry into the levels of cheating in national tests for 11-year-olds.

David Miliband: No. The QCA continues to keep its processes for detecting and investigating malpractice under review.
	QCA works closely with LEAs to investigate and monitor reported incidents. Anonymous complaints are recorded and monitored. QCA works very closely with LEA inspectors who conduct thorough checks throughout the test process. Investigations of malpractice can involve a review of scripts from a school, interviews with teachers, talking to children and drawing on advice from experts in the field depending upon the nature of the allegations. There has been no evidence presented to Government of widespread malpractice in the administration of the Key Stage 2 tests this year.

Child Care

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the role of her Department in improving access to child care for working parents.

Maria Eagle: A new unit, led by Baroness Ashton, accountable for delivery to the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions, will administer a budget of #1.5 billion a year by 2005–06. This represents a doubling of child care spending in real terms .
	By March 2004, new child care places for 1.6 million children will be created. New places for a further 450,000 children will be created by 2006. There are specific initiatives—like the establishment of children's centres and neighbourhood nurseries— which will provide more good quality, safe child care in disadvantaged areas.
	Substantial help with child care costs is provided to lower income families through the child care tax credit element of the working families tax credit. This assistance will continue in an improved and more flexible form as part of the working tax credit from April 2003.

GCSE Pass Marks

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what is the average mark required to pass GCSE (a) maths, (b) English and (c) history for each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 24 October 2002
	The GCSE is not a pass/fail examination. The GCSE grading system is criteria-related and grade boundary ranges for each subject are established each year by awarding bodies, making reference to candidates' work from the previous year, grade descriptions, past papers and statistical data. Each boundary is set by individual awarding bodies using both professional judgment and key statistical evidence. Information on grade boundary marks is not routinely collected.
	The information on grade boundaries in maths, English and history will be lodged in the House of Commons Library in due course.

GCSE Pass Marks

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the average mark needed to attain a grade (a) A, (b) C and (c) G in GCSE mathematics was in each year from 1987 to 2002;
	(2)  what the average mark needed to achieve an (a) A grade and (b) A* grade in GCSE mathematics was in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 24 October 2002
	Information is not routinely collected on grade boundary marks in GCSE mathematics, across individual awarding body specifications. Grade boundary ranges for each subject, including mathematics, are established making reference to candidates' work from the previous year, grade descriptions, past papers and statistical data. Each boundary is set by individual awarding bodies using both professional judgement and key statistical evidence.
	The information on grade boundaries in Maths GCSE for the period requested will be lodged in the House of Commons Library in due course.

National Grid for Learning

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much government funding is available to connect schools to the National Grid for Learning; and how much was spent on rural schools in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Ivan Lewis: Government are committed to investing #1.8 billion on ICT in schools in England over 1998–2004; this covers equipment, content and training as well as connecting schools to the National Grid for Learning through the internet. Allocations to schools in 2000–01 and 2001–02 were #205 million and #245 million, respectively. A further #355 million is being allocated in 2002–03. This funding is not disaggregated for connections to the internet or for the amount allocated to rural schools. However, latest survey data published on 30 October indicate that average school expenditure on ICT has risen from #18,100 in 2000–01 to #24,800 in 2001–02.

PE Teaching (Primary Schools)

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of PE teaching in primary schools.

Ivan Lewis: The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is responsible for monitoring, reporting and advising the Secretary of State on the quality of teaching and learning in schools, including Physical Education (PE).Ofsted published—in February 2002—a primary subject report on PE for the academic year 2000–01. This reported that in one in four primary schools there had been a significant improvement in the quality of PE since their previous inspections. Ofsted also reported that teaching was good or better in about half of schools; this maintains recent trends. The report has been placed in both libraries.

School Exclusions (West Kent)

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have been excluded from (a) state primary and (b) state secondary schools in West Kent at each of the key stages, in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The available information is shown in the table. Information collected centrally on permanent exclusions does not record the key stage of the pupil; a breakdown of the figures by age is given as a proxy. Figures are not available centrally on fixed-term exclusions.
	
		Maintained primary and secondary schools in Kent local education authority: number of permanent exclusions by age of pupils—England 1996–97 to 2000–01(1)
		
			  Age of pupils  
			 Primary schools(2) 6 and under 7 to 10 Total 
		
		
			 1996–97
			 Number of permanent exclusions 18 61 79 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 22.8 77.2 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.03 0.08 0.06 
			  
			 1997–98(5)
			 Number of permanent exclusions 9 32 41 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 22.0 78.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.01 0.04 0.04 
			 1998–99
			 Number of permanent exclusions 7 26 33 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 21.2 78.8 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.01 0.04 0.03 
			  
			 1999–2000
			 Number of permanent exclusions 5 28 33 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 15.2 84.8 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.01 0.04 0.03 
			  
			 2000–01(1)
			 Number of permanent exclusions 6 63 69 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 8.7 91.3 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.01 0.10 0.06 
		
	
	
		
			  Age of pupils  
			 Secondary schools(2) 13 and under 14 to 15 16 and over Total 
		
		
			 1996–97 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 167 189 9 365 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 45.8 51.8 2.5 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.31 0.54 0.06 0.35 
			  
			 1997–98(5) 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 138 152 9 299 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 46.2 51.0 3.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.25 0.44 0.06 0.28 
			  
			 1998–99 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 134 134 20 288 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 46.5 46.7 7.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.28 0.47 0.15 0.32 
			  
			 1999–2000 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 94 107 6 207 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) 45.4 51.7 2.9 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) 0.20 0.37 0.04 0.23 
			   
			 2000–01 
			 Number of permanent exclusions (6) — (6) — (6) — 296 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(3) (6) — (6) — (6) — 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(4) (6) — (6) — (6) — 0.32 
		
	
	(1) Permanent exclusions data for 2000–01 have been estimated as they are known to be incomplete.
	(2) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(3) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number.
	(4) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of full and part-time pupils (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January each year.
	(5) After Local Government Reorganisation.
	(6) Not available (data at secondary school level are incomplete for this LEA and are therefore not available).
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

Schools (Somerset)

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils have been excluded from state (a) primary and (b) secondary schools at each of the key stages in each year since 1997 in Somerset.

David Miliband: The available information is shown in the table. Information collected centrally on permanent exclusions does not record the key stage of the pupil; a breakdown of the figures by age is given as a proxy. Figures are not available centrally on fixed-term exclusions.
	
		Maintained primary and secondary schools in Somerset local education authority: number of permanent exclusions by age of pupils(England 1996–97 to 2000–01(7) 
		
			  Age of pupils  
			 Primary schools(8) 6 and under 7 to 10 Total 
		
		
			 1996–97
			 Number of permanent exclusions 4 14 18 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 22.2 77.8 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.02 0.07 0.05 
			  
			 1997–98
			 Number of permanent exclusions 2 9 11 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 18.2 81.8 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.01 0.04 0.03 
			  
			 1998–99
			 Number of permanent exclusions 1 5 6 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 16.7 83.3 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.01 0.02 0.02 
			  
			 1999–2000
			 Number of permanent exclusions 0 12 12 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 0.0 100.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.00 0.06 0.03 
			  
			 2000–01(7)
			 Number of permanent exclusions 5 10 15 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 33.3 66.7 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.03 0.05 0.04 
		
	
	
		
			  Age of pupils  
			 Secondary schools(8) 13 and under 14 to 15 16 and over Total 
		
		
			 1996–97 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 37 41 0 78 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 47.4 54.7 0.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.21 0.42 0.00 0.27 
			  
			 1997–98 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 31 32 1 64 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 48.4 50.8 1.6 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.18 0.32 0.06 0.22 
			  
			 1998–99 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 26 29 0 55 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 47.3 54.7 0.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.14 0.29 0.00 0.19 
			  
			 1999–2000 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 24 25 0 49 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 47.9 52.1 0.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.13 0.25 0.00 0.16 
			  
			 2000–01(7) 
			 Number of permanent exclusions 23 15 0 38 
			 Percentage of all permanent exclusions(9) 60.5 39.5 0.0 100.0 
			 Percentage of school population(10) 0.12 0.14 0.00 0.12 
		
	
	(7) Permanent exclusions data for 2000–01 have been estimated as they are known to be incomplete.
	(8) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(9) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number.
	(10) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of full and part-time pupils (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January each year.
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fisheries Council

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Fisheries Council held in Brussels on 14 and 15 October; what the Government's stance was on each issue discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 14–15 October. The Scottish Minister for Environment and Rural Development also attended.
	The Council considered three proposals on food safety, covering the monitoring and control of zoonoses and genetically modified food and feed. Some clarification of positions emerged but it was not possible to reach agreement on this occasion. Further work will be undertaken by officials before Ministers reconsider these dossiers.
	The Council assessed the agricultural priorities flowing from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and agreed conclusions accordingly.
	The Council continued its consideration of the mid-term review of the CAP with a discussion concentrating on the proposals concerning rural development, farm audits and three commodity sectors: nuts, rice and milk. My hon. Friend was supported by a number of other Member States in stressing the importance of a shift from production-linked support under the CAP to rural development programmes and he recalled the importance of a fair distribution of funds between Member States. On the commodity proposals, he opposed the introduction of new market measures for nuts and supported the Commission's proposals on rice which would complement improved access to the EU market for third countries. On milk, he reiterated UK support for action that would eventually enable milk quotas to be phased out, and indicated that we would be prepared to consider favourably the possible acceleration of certain measures agreed in the Agenda 2000 package.
	Ministers also discussed the agricultural aspects of the WTO round negotiations. My hon Friend strongly supported Commissioner Fischler in emphasising the importance of CAP reform in general and decoupling in particular if the EU is to participate constructively in the round.
	Under other business, the Commission dealt with enquiries about olive oil promotion, aid to Greek cotton producers and negotiations with third countries over grain imports.
	On fisheries, the Council held a further debate on the Commission's proposals for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, this time covering access to waters and resources, enforcement, and the Commission's proposals for Regional Advisory Councils: the presidency noted the various views expressed and reiterated that its aim is to conclude this dossier at the December Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
	The Council also debated the Commission's proposal for a cod and hake recovery plan based on limitations on days at sea, which was originally submitted to the Council in December 2001. There was a divergence of view on the desirability of a plan, with one significant group of member states, including the UK, supportive of the need to act, and another group markedly less so. For the UK, my hon. Friend recognised the seriousness of the state of the stocks and emphasised that all possible approaches, including days at sea, warranted consideration. He stressed also that it would be important, when determining what measures to adopt, to recognise the varying structures and circumstances of national fleets.
	Commissioner Fischler gave a first presentation to the Council on his proposed action plan for Mediterranean fisheries. The Council will discuss this substantively at a later date.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on areas of outstanding natural beauty in each region in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: The Countryside Agency, which manages the expenditure on Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has provided the following figures:
	
		
			 Region 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 North East 407,692 133,748 (545,000) 
			 North West 216,126 108,001 (310,000) 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 80,358 13,677 (189,000) 
			 East Midlands 69,400 (10,570) (75,000) 
			 West Midlands 492,998 109,916 (449,000) 
			 East of England 369,966 78,227 (308,000) 
			 South East and London 1,227,573 406,730 (1,555,000) 
			 South West 923,526 362,617 (1,805,000) 
			 Nationally 1,108,429 412,077 (970,000) 
			 Total: 4,896,069 (11) 1,635,563 (6,206,000) 
		
	
	(11) Actual spend to date for 02/03 as at 29 October 2002 is given along with, in brackets, the expected total spend based on current commitments.
	The Agency advises that figures for 2000/01 are not available in this format because the programme for areas of outstanding natural beauty that year was part of a wider theme on protected landscapes, taking in national parks, Heritage coasts and Heritage landscapes. The total spend on the theme was #4.4m.

TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions her Department and the Bourne Group have undertaken to investigate the incidence of bovine TB in those areas which have been restocked with cattle since the culling and movement restriction policy following the foot and mouth outbreak last year.

Elliot Morley: Defra has commissioned an extensive research project with Warwick University to study the transmission of bovine TB in restocked herds. The first part of this project investigates the incidence of bovine TB in herds in the badger culling trial areas which have been restocked since the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, compared with herds in the same areas which were unaffected by FMD. The second part of the project is a case control study of restocked herds in all parts of Great Britain which become infected with bovine TB within two years of restocking.

TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for the implementation of the amended TB Order.

Elliot Morley: The original public consultation on the amended TB Order was interrupted by the foot and mouth disease outbreak. Additional policy considerations have come to light since the initial exercise was carried out and a further consultation on the amended TB Order is planned for the first half of next year. A timetable for implementation of the Order will be drawn up following consultation.

Common Agricultural Policy

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on the European Commission's proposals on the mid-term review of the common agricultural policy.

Elliot Morley: I welcome the European Commission's proposals for reform of the CAP which are a good basis for discussion. The Government supports the proposed shift in support from production-linked payments to wider agri-environment and rural development measures as well as the proposal to remove the link between production and support. In a number of key areas we would have liked the proposals to go further, notably by offering real budgetary savings and firm proposals for reform of the dairy regime. We will need to ensure that the reforms offer a fair deal for UK producers.

Common Agricultural Policy

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she expects on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy as a result of the mid-term review; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 October 2002
	Formal legislative proposals for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy are not expected until December at the earliest. Negotiations will therefore continue into 2003. It is too early to say what the outcome of discussions will be, but the UK will continue to argue that reform is essential if we are to meet our domestic objectives and international obligations.

Community Development Work

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the fund for community development work was spent in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: The proposal to support community development workers was announced in the rural White Paper in November 2000. I understand from the Countryside Agency that bids from rural community councils to employ additional community development workers to work with small rural communities to tackle the problem of social exclusion were invited in October 2001 for the three year period from April 2002. 37 posts have been approved. In addition, the Community Development Foundation has been contracted to develop a network of rural community development workers, including the posts funded through the Agency, to build capacity among the network, to spread good practice and to promote training. Total spend in the year to date is #385,691. There was no expenditure in 2000/01 and 2001/02.

Countryside Agency

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) recent discussions she has had and (b) representations she has received regarding the Countryside Agency; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: I have regular meetings with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Countryside Agency and we exchange correspondence frequently. Most recently I met the board of the agency on 16 October where we discussed how best we could work together to deliver the Government's objectives of securing prosperous rural economies, vibrant rural communities and a countryside which all may enjoy. Officials in the Department also work closely with officials in the Agency to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of rural policy.

Departmental Logo

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much it cost to redesign the Department's logo; and which outside bodies were involved in the creative process.

Alun Michael: Our current expenditure on redesigning the Defra Logo is #24,000, with a further #8,000 of expenditure on research and refinement.
	The outside body involved in the creative process was the brand design agency, Bamber Forsyth-Fitch.

Environmental Action Fund Grant

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding is available through the Environmental Action Fund Grant; and how much was spent through it in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: In each of the financial years 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03, #4.2 million has been available through the Environmental Action Fund. Out-turn was also #4.2 million in both 2000–01 and 2001–02. For 2002–03 we have allocated the full resource of the Fund to deserving biodiversity and sustainable development education and awareness raising projects.

Farm Support

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent and how many farmers have been supported, by category, through the (a) England Rural Development Programme and (b) Farm Business Advisory Service in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: England Rural Development Programme (ERDP)
	
		Total amount spent in each year -- #
		
			 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 
		
		
			 122.6(12) 167.2 50.0 
		
	
	(12) The ERDP was approved by the European Commission on 11 October 2000. Expenditure recorded against the programme did not start until 16 October 2000. This is the date on which the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (under which CAP payments are Made) year commences.
	
		The total number of those supported in each year(14) 
		
			 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 
		
		
			 25,828 26,089 7,217 
		
	
	(13) This includes farmers and non-farmers in receipt of payments from any of the ten ERDP schemes. Those benefiting from more than one scheme are counted only once. It is not possible separately to identify figures for farmers and for non-farmer recipients, or to break down the figures by type of farm other than at disproportionate cost.
	Farm Business Advisory Service (FBAS)
	
		Total amount spent each year -- #
		
			 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 
		
		
			 4.1 6.8 0.95 
		
	
	
		Total number of first visits
		
			 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 
		
		
			 3,480 3,102 789 
		
	
	
		Total number of action whole farm plans completed (for core and enhanced service)
		
			 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 
		
		
			 2,012 2,955 916 
		
	
	It is not possible to identify the numbers of farmers by type of farm in either scheme without incurring disproportionate costs.

Firefighters' Strike

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what preparations she has made to ensure the safety and continuity of service to the public in the event of a firefighters' strike; and what the cost is to the Department of these actions.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Raynesford) on 28 October 2002, Official Report, column 527W. The cost of providing emergency cover will depend on the extent and nature of any industrial action.

Growth Promoters

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessments she has made of the appropriateness of using growth promoters in livestock and poultry.

Elliot Morley: The Government take very seriously the possibility of the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria affecting humans as a result of the use of antibiotics in animals. They are satisfied that the four remaining antibiotic growth promoters are not related to any therapeutic antibiotics currently used in human or veterinary medicine but will keep the issue under review. Government policy will continue to be informed by the advice of their specialist committees.
	There is currently a proposal before the European Commission for a regulation on additives for use in animal nutrition. The proposal aims to rationalise existing measures and introduce new controls. One of the effects will be to withdraw the use of antibiotic growth promoters by 31 December 2005. The intended withdrawal is based on a precautionary approach taking into account the impact that antimicrobial-resistant microbes can have on human health. This time scale includes a phasing out period, allowing time for the development of new husbandry methods and for industry to develop alternative products.

Household Waste (Chelmsford)

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the proportion of household waste that was recycled in the Chelmsford local authority area in (a) the last year for which figures are available, (b) 1998 and (c) 1995.

Michael Meacher: Figures derived from the Defra annual Municipal Waste Management Survey show a household recycling rate for Chelmsford borough council, of 7 per cent in 2000–01 and 3 per cent in 1998–99. Data is not available for 1995. Copies of the results from the municipal waste management survey 2000–01 and earlier years, are available in the House of Commons Library and from the DEFRA website: httD.V/www.defra.aov.uk/environment/wastats/mwbOOOI/index.htm

LEADER+ Programme

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been (a) applied for and (b) spent through the LEADER+ Programme by area in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: LEADER+ is an EU programme which is part funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Funding is allocated by calendar year. English LEADER+ local action groups have been allocated the following funding for their development plans, grouped by region:
	
		
			 Region 2002 2003  
			  EU (#) DEFRA (#) EU (#) DEFRA (#) 
		
		
			 North West 596,479 258,579 1,007,033 480,777 
			 North East 273,912 78,579 551,815 126,802 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 304,481 142,820 648,359 316,965 
			 West Midlands 129,311 66,004 191,694 91,059 
			 East Midlands 214,948 102,975 623,928 272,488 
			 East 306,181 58,612 450,071 89,838 
			 South West 618,097 305,384 1,139,343 568,422 
			 South East 499,020 125,345 1,396,003 427,227 
			  
			 Total 2,942 1,138,298 6,008,346 2,373,578 
		
	
	We do not yet have any figures on expenditure by local action groups as they are currently putting together their first grant claims. These will cover the period 7 January 2002 (when the successful local action groups were announced) to 31 September 2002.

Management and Best Practice Toolkit

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications were made and how much was spent through the internet-linked management and best practice toolkit in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date; broken down by project.

Alun Michael: Following a commitment in the Rural White Paper the web based best practice toolkit for parishes was launched in September 2002. It was developed by the Countryside Agency working with the Local Government Association (LGA), the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and the improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). The 'Knowledge' website is a free web resource. The address is www.idea-knowledge.gov.uk and is currently used by over 15,000 registered users.
	The editorial management is jointly owned by the IDeA, LGA, NALC and the Countryside Agency. The Countryside Agency chairs and services the editorial management meetings. The toolkit focuses particularly on partnership working between parish and town councils and principal local authorities.
	The toolkit is a resource not a mechanism for application for grants. Therefore figures cannot be provided in the format requested.

Market Town Regeneration

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been (a) applied for and (b) spent on market town regeneration by her Department in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: The Market Town Initiative is being taken forward on Defra's behalf by the regional development agencies, working with the Countryside Agency and local partners, and using the #37 million of Government funding announced in the rural White Paper in November 2000 plus such match funding as can be secured from other public and private sources.
	Expenditure on the Initiative in 2001–02 is estimated at some #2.9m by the regional development agencies and some #2.5m by the countryside agency. Information for the current financial year is not yet available but as most towns have now completed their action plans this should result in a substantial increase in project expenditure by RDAs and other partners.

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that her officials avoid causing the bankruptcy of Mr. L. A. and Mrs. S. M. Rogers of South Milton, Kingsbridge by continuing to demand a penalty for their failure to despatch the appropriate forms to the British Cattle Movement Service in Cumbria in 2001.

Alun Michael: I can assure the hon. Member that following a thorough review of the case his constituents will receive their 2001 Beef Special Premium Scheme payment shortly.

National Parks

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on national park grants in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: In 2000–01 and 2001–02 the English National Park Authorities and the Broads Authority received #26,166,650 and #27,920,833 respectively.
	In 2002–03 the National Parks and Broads Authority will receive #31,493,854 1 . Of this, #25,345,978 has been spent to date. 1 This includes funding to aid recovery from Foot and Mouth and for implementation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Core funding for 2002–03 is #29,618,853.

Pigswill

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what representations she has received, and what studies have been conducted, into the environmental impact of pigswill being disposed of to landfill; and what assessment her Department has made of the risk of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or swine fever as a result;
	(2)  how many representations she has received concerning pig farmers affected by the ban on the use of pigswill.

Elliot Morley: In March 2001 during the foot and mouth outbreak, the proposal to ban swill feeding was the subject of a full public consultation and Regulatory Impact Assessment. We received over 350 responses to the consultation letter. Subsequently, Minister's have received 51 letters and 33 questions from MPs with regards to the ban on swill feeding. On 20 November 2001 I met with representatives of the Associated Swill Users.
	Before the ban on swill-feeding, only a small proportion of catering waste from restaurants and other catering establishments was fed to pigs as swill. The vast majority was already disposed of to landfill or incineration. As the additional waste was going to landfill under the same conditions as before, no specific assessment was made as to the environmental and animal health impacts from the use of landfill to dispose of material that would otherwise have been fed to pigs.

Poultry Cages

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is the Government's policy to take decisions concerning the future of enriched cages at EU level.

Elliot Morley: Council Directive 99/74/EC laying down minimum standards for the welfare of laying hens has been implemented through the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000, as amended, which came into force on 25 June. Consistent with the Government's Strategy for Agriculture, the directive has been implemented without adding to it in any way.
	However, we have carried out a three-month public consultation on the future of enriched cages. Responses to this consultation will form part of our consideration on whether Xenriched" cages should continue to be permitted. That consideration will be guided by the available scientific evidence and the need to provide egg producers with the certainty they need to enable them to make long-term investment decisions.

Poultry Cages

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential change in employment in England as a result of a ban on the enriched laying cage.

Elliot Morley: A partial regulatory impact assessment was included in the public consultation and will be considered again and revisited in the light of responses received.

Poultry Cages

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will publish the results of her Department's detailed assessment of the competition implications of the proposed ban on enriched laying cages;
	(2)  when she intends to make a decision on the future of enriched laying cages.

Elliot Morley: A partial regulatory impact assessment was included in the public consultation about a possible ban on enriched cages. The impact assessment will be looked at again in light of the responses received. A full regulatory impact assessment will be made available along with the results of the consultation.

Public Spaces

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish the consultation paper on reforming the legislative framework for providing and maintaining public spaces.

Alun Michael: I am today publishing XLiving Places—Powers, Rights, Responsibilities", the Government's consultation paper on options for reforming the way statutory powers, duties and guidance help the relevant service providers to improve our public spaces and the local environment. The paper is being presented at the urban summit to accompany a report on public spaces being published by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. The consultation paper concerns several Government departments and I look forward to feedback from a broad range of groups. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library of the House.

Rural Payments Agency

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish the 2001–02 annual report of the rural payments agency.

Alun Michael: The 2001–02 annual report and accounts for the rural payments agency were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Street Cleaning

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sums she makes available to provide for street cleaners; and what measures she can take if a local authority fails to keep its area clean for the public.

Alun Michael: A number of large mainstream budgets directly affect the safety and cleanliness of local neighbourhoods. Additional investment in real terms for these areas was announced in Spending Review 2002 covering the years 2003–06. General revenue grant to local authorities is up by an average of 3.9 per cent a year after inflation. The Government's general revenue provision for most aspects of public space, including provision for street cleaners, is allocated via the Environment, Protective and Cultural Services grant block, which is up 1.3 per cent. after inflation.A litter abatement order may be applied for if a local authority does not carry out its statutory duty to keep its land free of litter and debris, so far is practicable. This is done through the Magistrates' Court. If successful in obtaining the order it means that the offending authority must clean the area.

Voluntary Sector

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding is available for the voluntary sector in terms of (a) grants and (b) core-funding by her Department; and how much of that money has been (i) applied for and (ii) spent in (A) 2000–01, (B) 2001–02 and (C) 2002–03 to date.

Alun Michael: Because of departmental changes in June 2001, the information is not readily available in the form requested. Information is being collated and I will write to the hon. Member within the next week.

Wildlife-friendly Agriculture

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to direct grant monies towards wildlife-friendly agriculture; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government are committed to improving standards of environmental protection in agriculture, and are pressing for a shift in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) expenditure from production-linked payments towards rural development and agri-environment measures.
	In 2001, the Government introduced modulation, re-directing a proportion of CAP payments into schemes such as the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and Environmentally Sensitive Areas, both of which aim to safeguard and enhance wildlife habitats.
	These schemes form part of the England Rural Development Programme, under which #1.6 billion will be invested in the countryside between 2000 and 2006, including #1 billion on agri-environment measures. The Government have committed an additional #75 million to introduce a new entry-level agri-environment scheme in 2005, following successful pilots. This scheme will be available to as many farms as possible.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what the latest estimate is of how much of Afghanistan's poppy fields have been destroyed; and what the UK is doing to help the Afghanistan Government combat the production of opium;
	(2)  what action the UK is taking to help the Afghanistan Government combat the production of opium;
	(3)  what his latest estimate is of how much of Afghanistan's poppy fields have been destroyed in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The Afghan Government estimate their eradication programme destroyed approximately 17,300 hectares of the 2002 opium poppy crop. The United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention estimates that the size of the 2002 crop was 74,000 hectares.
	The UK is co-ordinating international anti-narcotics assistance to Afghanistan. In consultation with the Afghan Government, other donors and international (especially UN) agencies, the UK has developed a strategy for the long term elimination of drugs from Afghanistan. It identifies four key areas where the international community should focus its support: providing alternative livelihoods for opium poppy farmers; improving Afghan drug law enforcement capacity; building up the capacity of Afghan drug control institutions; and reducing drug demand in Afghanistan.

Bilateral Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assistance the Government has given to each EU applicant country in terms of bilateral aid.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given him by my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Europe on 21 June 2002, Official Report, column 636W. The UK pays 19.6 per cent. of EU pre-accession assistance.Bilateral assistance is ongoing and comes from a number of areas. DFID provides significant assistance through its bilateral programme. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides assistance to applicant countries through its bilateral action plans, command programme budget allowances and through functional departments (e.g global conflict prevention fund).

British High Commission (Singapore)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department was informed that the Government of Singapore had made a statement on responsibility for the attempted attack on the British High Commission in that country in December 2001; what assessment his Department made of that statement; what consequent threat assessment his Department has made; what action was taken and on what date; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Government of Singapore informed us in mid-December 2001 of a possible threat to our High Commission in Singapore. The High Commission raised its level of security. The Government of Singapore subsequently announced on 6 January 2002 the detention of thirteen people during December 2001 in connection with plans to mount terrorist attacks against a range of targets in that country.
	As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on 15 October 2002, Official Report, column 178, prior to 11 September 2001, and especially afterwards, we identified South East Asia as an area with a real and present threat from groups linked to al-Qaeda. The FCO's travel advice to the region takes account of this threat.
	On 28 October 2002 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary laid before this House the Statutory Instrument for the proscription of Jemaah Islamiyah in the UK. This issue was debated by both Houses of Parliament on 30 October 2002 and the Order will now come into force on 1 November 2002.

Child Abduction

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what plans he has to raise the case of Catherine Meyer in an international forum;
	(2)  what plans he has to raise child abduction issues in an EU forum.

Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 28 October 2002, Official Report, column 554.

Common Agricultural Policy

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken to reconcile the CAP with the coming enlargement of the EU.

Denis MacShane: At the Brussels European Council on 24 October 2002, the EU agreed to phase in direct payments for the new member states over nine years (2004–2013). To help limit the cost of extending CAP to the new member states, the EU also agreed to put a ceiling on traditional CAP expenditure between 2007 and 2013 based on its 2006 levels. This is without prejudice to possible CAP reform in the context of the mid term review and the Doha development round, which the Government strongly advocates.

Common Agricultural Policy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts concerning the Common Agricultural Policy.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with EU colleagues on a number of occasions over the last few weeks. As the Prime Minister made clear to the House on 28 October, the Government remain firmly committed to a thorough reform of the CAP, consistent with the commitments that we and our EU partners made at the Doha WTO Ministerial and WSSD in Johannesburg. The conclusions of the Brussels European Council recall those commitments made at Doha.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the mandate of the Convention on the Future of Europe Working Group on Defence is; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The Government welcome the European Convention's decision to set up a Working Group on Defence. The Working Group's mandate is set out in Convention document CONV 206/02 of 19 July 2002 and reads as follows:
	Apart from the Petersberg tasks, what defence remit could be envisaged for the Union?
	Since the Union has decided that it must have a genuine operational capability, including a military capability, what can be done to ensure that the Member States have the military capabilities needed to guarantee the credibility of the Union's defence policy? Should we seek inspiration from monetary union, and establish admission criteria and a pact to be complied with thereafter?
	Should provision be made for extending enhanced cooperation to defence matters?
	What can be done to ensure that decisions can be taken quickly during a crisis management operation?
	What can be done to ensure coherent planning of the Union's crisis management operations?
	What methods should be used to ensure greater efficiency and economies of scale in arms procurement, research and development? Should the creation of a European Arms Agency be envisaged?

Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when UK Visas will reply to the letter of 27 June from the hon. Member for Manchester, Central, regarding Mr. AM reference NBI/1003564/7/8.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 30 October 2002
	I am sorry for the delay in replying to my hon. Friend's letter of 27 June. A reply was sent to him on 30 October.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the status of Cyprus' application to join the EU

Denis MacShane: Cyprus has made very good progress in negotiations, having provisionally closed 28 of the 31 negotiating chapters. At Brussels the European Council confirmed its determination to conclude negotiations with Cyprus, along with nine other countries, at its meeting in Copenhagen on 12/13 December. It also reiterated its preference for a reunited Cyprus to join the EU. If there is no settlement, it said, Xthe decisions to be taken in December by the Copenhagen European Council will be based on the conclusions set out by [..] Helsinki" i.e. that the Council's decision will be taken without a settlement being a precondition and that all relevant factors would be taken into account.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards establishing discussions between the communities in Cyprus on property rights as part of a settlement; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Property is one of the core issues, identified by the UN Secretary-General, being discussed by the two leaders in Cyprus as part of efforts to find a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement to the Cyprus problem. The UN Secretary-General has asked that the content of discussions during the settlement talks remain private. I urge the two leaders to do all they can to narrow their differences on property and on the other core issues.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) Turkey and (b) Greece, concerning the prospects of a settlement in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Sukru Sina Gurel, Turkish Foreign Minister, on 24 September and George Papandreou, Greek Foreign Minister on 24 October 2002. He discussed settlement negotiations in Cyprus with both, made clear that our aim is for a reunited island to be invited at the Copenhagen European Council to accede to the European Union and urged both to take an active role in supporting the UN on Cyprus.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what bicommunal events and activities his Department and the British Council have supported in Cyprus in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.[R]

Denis MacShane: The Government are committed to developing practical co-operation between the two communities on and off the island. The then Minister for Europe my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Peter Hain) hosted a reception and gave a speech to an intercommunal gathering on 10 April which was attended by senior politicians from both communities. The British high commission has made a significant contribution to intercommunal dialogue, bringing Turkish and Greek Cypriots together at a wide range of events.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made by the technical committees established under UN auspices to look at aspects of the Cyprus problem relating to constitutional and treaty matters; and if he will make a statement

Denis MacShane: I welcome the establishment of the technical committees to support the settlement talks on Cyprus, announced by the Secretary-General on 4 October. We hope the committees will start their work as soon as possible. The UN Secretary-General has asked that the content of discussions during the settlement talks remains private to the parties.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Lord Hannay has visited (a) Cyprus, (b) Greece, (c) Turkey and (d) the United Nations in the last 12 months for discussions on the Cyprus problem; and who he met on each occasion.

Denis MacShane: Lord Hannay visited Cyprus on:
	17 to 18 December 2001 and met Glafcos Clerides (Greek Cypriot leader), Rauf Denktash (Turkish Cypriot leader) and key players from both sides of the island;
	12 to 13 February 2002 and met Mr Clerides, Mr Denktash, and key players from both sides of the island;
	10 to 11 April 2002 and met Mr Clerides, Mr Denktash, and key players from both sides of the island;
	10 to 11 June 2002 and met Mr Clerides, Mr Denktash, and key players from both sides of the island;
	30 August to 2 September 2002 and met Mr Clerides, Mr Denktash, and key players from both sides of the island; and,
	24 to 27 October 2002 and met Mr Derides, Hakki Muftezade (senior adviser to Mr Denktash) and key players from both sides of the island.
	Lord Hannay visited Greece on:
	26 November 2001 and met Tassos Yiannitsis (Alternate Foreign Minister), Dora Bakoyanni (New Democracy), other key players and also gave a background briefing to Greek journalists;
	11 to 12 April 2002 and met George Papandreou (Foreign Minister), Mr Yiannitsis and other key players; and,
	16 to 18 May 2002 and met Mr Papandreou and close advisers.
	Lord Hannay visited Turkey on:
	27 November 2001 and met Ugar Ziyal, Baki Ilkin, Ertugrul Apakan (Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Tachan IIdem (President Sezer!s foreign policy adviser), Volkan Vural (Secretary-General for EU Affairs) and other key players; -
	21 to 22 March 2002 and met Mr Ziyal, Mr Ilkin, Mr Apakan, Mr IIdem, Volkan Bozkir (Deputy Secretary-General for EU Affairs) and other key players;
	5 to 6 June 2002 and met Ismail Cem (Turkish Foreign Minister), Mr Ziyal, Mr Ilkin, MrApakan, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz (Deputy Prime Minister), Mr Vural and had dinner with a cross-section of MPs and media commentators; and,
	24 to 25 July and met Mr. Ziyal, Mr. Vural, Mr. Ilkin, Mr. Apakan, Ms Tayyibe Guledkl
	Lord Hannay visited the UN in New York on:
	12 to 15 November 2001 and met Alvaro de Soto (UN Special Representative for Cyprus), Tom Weston (US Special Representative for Cyprus), Mr Wittig (German Special Representative for Cyprus), Mr derides, loannis Kasoulides (Foreign Minister of Cyprus), Mr Zackheos (Cyprus Permanent epresentative to the UN), Yigit Alpogan (Turkish Deputy Under-Secretary), Mr Papandreou and other key players;
	25 February 2002 and met Mr de Soto, Mr Weston and other key players; -
	3 April 2002 and met Kofi Annan (UN Secretary-General), Mr de Soto, Mr Weston, Kieran Prendergast (UN) and other key players;
	11 to 16 September 2002 and met Mr Kasoulides, Mr Papandreou, Marc Grossman (State Department), Fris Arne Petersen (Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr
	Prendergast and other key players; and,
	30 September to 5 October 2002 and met Mr Annan, Mr Weston, Mr de Soto, Mr Clerides, Mr Denktash and other key players.
	Lord Hannay also had meetings with Mr de Soto in;
	Cyprus on 12 to 13 February;
	Cyprus on 10 to 11 April;
	Rome on 8 and 9 June;
	Cyprus on 10 to 11 June;
	Paris on 5 July;
	Vienna on 27 July;
	Paris on 7 September;
	Cyprus on 30 August to 2 September;
	Vevey on 8 October; and,
	Cyprus on 24 to 27 October 2002.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to extend the benefits of EU membership to Cypriot inhabitants of the SBAs, Cyprus; and if he will make a statement

Denis MacShane: As the Commission noted in its report on Cyprus of 9 October, as part of the preparation for Cyprus1 future EU membership, the British government has over the past year held meetings with Cyprus and the European Commission to discuss the arrangements that will come into force in the SBAs when Cyprus joins the EU. Our objective has been, as described in the written answer by my noble Friend Baroness Symons of 5 December 2001 (Official Report, column WA 140), to continue with the policy of the SBAs remaining outside the EU, except where necessary to ensure that Cypriots who live and work in the SBAs do not benefit less from Cyprus's membership of the European Union than their compatriots in the Republic of Cyprus. The outcome of these discussions will be considered by the European institutions, including the Council of Ministers.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem

Denis MacShane: I am pleased that talks are continuing between the two sides in Cyprus to reach a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement. Our aim, and that of our EU partners and the US, is that such a settlement should be reached as soon as possible, so that a reunited island can be invited, at the Copenhagen European Council, to accede to the EU. I fully support the UN in its efforts to bridge the gaps between the two sides and urge the two leaders to do all they can to narrow their differences on the core issues.

Death Penalty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those organisations funded by committees' money campaigning to end the death penalty; if such organisations campaign in the United States; and what representations he has received from (a) the US Government (b) individual US states thereon.

Bill Rammell: It is unclear to which committee the hon. Member is referring, but it is HMG policy to lobby for a world-wide abolition of the death penalty.
	The UK took the lead during its EU presidency in formulating new EU guidelines on the death penalty. We have also established a Death Penalty Panel including expert academics and NGO representatives.
	Currently, the FCO is funding the International Justice Project. It is a resource centre in the US that provides information to US defence lawyers tackling death penalty cases.
	We shall continue to lobby States in the US until the death penalty is abolished.

Gibraltar

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on negotiations with the Government of Spain over the future sovereignty of Gibraltar.

Denis MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made to the House on 12 July 2002, Official Report, columns 1165–67.

North Korea

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government was informed by the United States Government of the latter's knowledge of the most recent status of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme; and what action has been taken by the United Kingdom as a result of this knowledge.

Mike O'Brien: Like the US, we have been concerned for some time at reports of clandestine North Korean nuclear activities. The North Koreans confirmed that they were pursuing an enrichment programme for nuclear weapons in a meeting with US Assistant Secretary Kelly on 4 October. We learned of that admission shortly afterwards.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said on 17 October (full statement available on the FCO website www.fco.gov.uk) that North Korea's actions are a serious violation of its international obligations. We are assessing our policy towards North Korea in consultation with our friends and allies most directly concerned with security on the Korean Peninsula, and with our partners in the European Union.

Recruitment (Over-50s)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those reports produced to date by the EU Institute for Security Studies, with security caveat grading.

Mike O'Brien: The publication record of the institute, and its official reports are available on its website (www.iss-eu.org). None of its reports has a security classification.

Resale Rights Directive

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the legal basis of Directive 2001/84/EC on art resale rights; at what point right of veto was waived by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The legal basis of Directive 2001/84/EC on the resale right for the benefit of an author of an original work of art was Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. The directive was subject to qualified majority voting. During lengthy negotiations the Government were, however, able to secure significant improvements to the initial proposal put forward by the Commission.

Shener Levent

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Turkish Cypriots concerning (a) the imprisonment of journalist Shener Levent and Lavant of XAfrika" newspaper, (b) the outstanding charges against Shener Levent in the military court, (c) the outstanding charges against Ozker Ozkur and Izzet Izcan, political party leaders, in the military court and (d) the use of military court against opponents of the Denktash regime and if he will make a statement.[R]

Denis MacShane: I am disappointed that Shener Levent is again being tried in court for publishing articles critical of the Turkish Cypriot authorities. I condemn all attacks on press freedom, and call upon the Turkish Cypriot authorities to ensure full respect for the right to freedom of expression of Shener Levent and all Turkish Cypriots. I made a statement on 4 September and the British Government made official representations when Shener Levent and Memduh Ener were imprisoned in August. We will continue to follow this case, and all cases before the military court, closely.

Terrorism

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with other government departments, concerning (a) proscribing Jemaah Islamiyah under the Terrorism Act 2000 and (b) freezing the assets of that group; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: On 23 October 2002 my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer instructed the Bank of England to issue notice requiring all UK banks and financial institutions to freeze the assets of Jemaah Islamiyah. This action was taken in co-ordination with the submission of Jemaah Islamiyah to the United Nations Sanctions Committee in New York. Jemaah Islamiyah was formally added to the United National Sanctions List under Security Council Resolution 1390 on 25 October.
	On 28 October 2002 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary laid before this House the statutory instrument for the proscription of Jemaah Islamiyah in the UK. This issue was debated by both Houses of Parliament on 30 October 2002 and the Order will now come into force on 1 November 2002.
	Both of these actions were taken after close consultation between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Her Majesty's Treasury and the Home Office.

Terrorism

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has collated concerning links between Jemaah Islamiyah and organisations (a) based in Europe, (b) with assets held in Europe and (c) with close links to groups resident in Europe; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Jemaah Islamiyah group based in South East Asia is not generally thought to operate outside that region and should not be confused with other Islamist groups elsewhere in the world that bear the same name. Information about terrorist groups and their finances is kept under constant review. We believe that the Jemaah Islamiyah group in South East Asia has strong links with the al Qaeda network and that al Qaeda maintains links with terrorists groups around the world, including Europe.
	On 23 October 2002 the European Union co-sponsored the submission of Jemaah Islamiyah to the United Nations Sanctions Committee in New York on the basis of that groups links to al Qaeda. Jemaah Islamiyah was added to the United Nations Sanctions List under Security Council Resolution 1390 on 25 October.

Turkey

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the request by Turkey for a date for the commencement of the accession process to the EU to be given at the Copenhagen summit; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: HMG has long been a strong supporter of Turkey's EU candidature and we look forward to Turkey's membership of the EU as soon as possible and in accordance with the conditions which all candidates have to meet. The European Council at Brussels welcomed the important reforms undertaken by the Turkish Government and said that Turkey's progress has brought forward the prospect of opening accession negotiations.

Women, Peace and Security

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security passed on 31October 2000.

Bill Rammell: The UN Secretary-General reported to the Security Council on 16 October on implementation of SCR 1325. That report included a number of important points that the Government strongly supports: promoting gender equality is not just the responsibility of women; post-conflict reconstruction should be based on full observance of human rights and the principle of non-discrimination; and more effort is needed to address the problems of children associated with armed groups, particularly girls. The Secretary-General also proposed a target of 50 per cent. women in all areas of UN peace operations by 2015.
	The Government strongly supports both the intention and implementation of this ground-breaking resolution. We welcome the UN's efforts to incorporate a gender perspective throughout its work, including peacekeeping and peacebuilding. We are funding a series of projects through the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UNIFEM (the UN development fund for women) and NGOs to support implementation of the resolution. We used our Presidency of the Security Council in July to host an open debate on conflict, peacekeeping and gender. We shall continue to work through the Security Council, with the UN and in our peace and development efforts for implementation of this resolution and for the benefit of women and all people striving for peace.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the performance of accident and emergency wards in England; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Improving patients' experience of emergency care is a Government priority.
	The NHS Plan set the target to reduce the maximum wait in accident and emergency (A&E) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours or less by 2004. By the time of the first milestone in March 2002, 77 per cent. of all patients attending A&E in England spent four hours or less in A&E. This slightly exceeded the milestone which was set at 75 per cent.
	To help meet the NHS Plan target, the Reforming Emergency Care Strategy was launched in October 2001. This is a long-term programme of reform and investment to provide fast effective treatment in a modern and safe environment.

Community Equipment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 10 most frequently prescribed items of community equipment are.

Jacqui Smith: Community equipment is prescribed according to local needs and priorities. We do not keep a central count.

Community Equipment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new targets have been introduced to speed up the delivery of community equipment and the time taken to make minor adaptations.

Jacqui Smith: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, made a statement to the House on 23 July 2002 concerning services for older people. He announced that by December 2004, all items of community equipment will be delivered within seven working days. This target will also apply to minor adaptations made by community equipment services.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter to him dated 13 September from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Anne Franke.

Alan Milburn: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 21 October.

Draft Mental Health Bill

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will recommend that the Draft Mental Health Bill be considered a Special Standing Committee.

Jacqui Smith: The Government would look favourably on the idea of referring the Bill to a Special Standing Committee, as this would be helpful to examine the Bill in detail and enable us to take further evidence from many parties.

Enuresis

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to promote the availability of drinking water and adequate toilet facilities in schools to combat enuresis.

David Miliband: I have been asked to reply.
	The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 specify the toilet facilities required in all schools. They also state that a school shall have a wholesome supply of water for domestic purposes including a supply of drinking water. We are also planning to disseminate good practice advice to schools and local education authorities on drinking water provision in the light of the health risks associated with not drinking enough water.

Inpatient Treatment

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting for inpatient treatment in each trust area in England at the latest available date; and of these, how many had been waiting for (a) 0 to 2, (b) 3 to 5, (c) 6 to 8, (d) 9 to 11, (e) 12 to 14 and (f) 15 plus months in each case.

John Hutton: Information on the number of patients waiting for inpatient elective admission by months waiting, as at 31 August by national health service trust and primary care trust has been placed in the Library.

Local Government Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his assessment is of the forward revenue commitments for each of the next three years for each of the ring-fenced grants paid by his Department to local authorities in 2002–03 .

Jacqui Smith: It is for individual local authorities to decide what forward commitments to enter into in respect of ring-fenced grant expenditure and this information is not available centrally.

Children in Care (Educational Standards)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many looked-after children have obtained (a) no GCSEs, (b) one A-G GCSE, (c) five A-G GCSEs, (d) one A*-C GCSE and (e) five A*-C GCSEs in each year since 1997; and what target his Department has set for educational standards for looked-after children in each of those years.

Jacqui Smith: . The Government has established the following national public service agreement targets.
	Increase to 50 per cent. by 2000–01 the proportion of children leaving care aged 16 and over with a GCSE or GNVQ qualification; and to 75 per cent. by 2002–03.
	Increase to 15 per cent. by 2003–04 the proportion of children leaving care aged 16 and over with five GCSEs at grade A*-C.
	The number of children who ceased to be looked after in England during the years ending 31 March 2000 and 2001, aged 16 and over, by qualifications achieved is set out in the following table. Information is not available prior to March 2000.
	
		Children who ceased to be looked after during the years ending 31 March 2000 and 2001, aged 16 or over, by level of qualification achieved
		
			  2000 2001 
		
		
			 No GCSEs 4,800 4,200 
			 1 A*-G GCSE 2,000 2,400 
			 5 A*-G GCSE 1,300 1,600 
			 1 A*-C GCSE 890 1,100 
			 5 A*-C GCSE 270 300 
			  
			 Total care leavers 6,800 6,600

Mental Health Advocacy

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent advice he has given to PCTs concerning the funding of mental health advocacy.

Jacqui Smith: Final decisions on funding for 2003–04 will be made in the autumn as part of the work on primary care trust allocations and central budgets, as such no announcements or advice on this funding have yet been made.

NHS Expenditure

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS on NHS magazines, briefings and literature in 2001–02.

David Lammy: A breakdown of expenditure by National Health Service organisations on NHS magazines, briefings and literature could be supplied only at disproportionate cost as the information is not held centrally.

Nursing Leaders

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many structures identifying nursing leaders with responsibility for older people have been developed as part of the milestones set out in the National Service Framework for Older People, page 172.

Jacqui Smith: Information about progress against the April 2002 milestones set within the national service framework for older people is currently being collected.

One-stop Primary Care

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding is available from his Department for investment in 100 One-Stop Primary Care centres in (a) all and (b) rural England; and how much was spent in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03 to date in (A) all and (B) rural England.

John Hutton: The NHS Plan announced that up to #1 billion will be invested in primary care facilities to substantially refurbish or replace 3,000 general practitioner premises and provide 500 one-stop primary care centres, of which 100 are expected to provide services accessible to rural populations, by 2004.
	In August 2002 an announcement was made that #22 million of public capital was to be used to accelerate 100 one-stop primary care centre schemes for completion in 2003.

Overseas Surgical Teams

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas surgical teams have been brought to the UK by the NHS; where they have worked; and how many operations they have carried out.

John Hutton: The national health service has brought six overseas clinical teams to the United Kingdom. The team at Central Middlesex hospital has carried out 516 general surgical operations. The team at Hillingdon hospital has carried out 350 orthopaedic operations. The team at South Tyneside NHS trust has carried out 39 orthopaedic operations. The team at east Somerset has carried out 12 general surgical operations. The team at Morecambe Bay hospitals NHS trust has carried out 313 cataract operations. The team at mid-Staffordshire carried out two cataract operations.

Prison Health Care Workers

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prison health care workers have acquired an NVQ in custodial care.

Jacqui Smith: There are 36 prison health care workers currently enrolled on the custodial care National Vocational Qualification. They will transfer to the new custodial health care NVQ when this NVQ has been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

Radiographers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the (a) Health Professional Council registration fees for radiographers for each of the last three years and (b) proposed registration fees for the next two years.

John Hutton: Radiographers and other health professions regulated by the Health Professions Council (HPC) are subject to independent self-regulation, which is self-financing. Since 1990 the registration fee has only increased by #10. For the last three years it has remained at the level of #22.
	The HPC's role has expanded substantially since it succeeded the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM) and the HPC has recently consulted on proposals for the new register. This included the level of fees, which it proposes to set at between #65-#85 per year, payable on a two yearly basis, commencing April 2003.

Radiographers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) radiographers and (b) vacant posts for radiographers there were in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) health authority and (ii) region.

John Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.between September 1997 and September 2001, the number of diagnostic radiographers has increased by 800 from 10,360 to 11,160 and the number of therapeutic radiographers has increased by 130 from 1,410 to 1,540.

Redundancy Payments (NHS Executives)

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how redundancy payments are calculated for executives of NHS trusts made redundant by trust mergers; and what the average such payment has been.

John Hutton: The arrangements for the calculation of redundancy payments for National Health Service staff are set out in Section 45 and 46 of the Whitley General Council Handbook. A copy of this document is available in the Library.
	Payments to executives of NHS trusts made redundant by trust mergers are not collected centrally.

Social Services Departments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable he proposes for the changes to social services departments announced recently.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 28 October 2002
	At the Annual Social Services Conference on 16 October my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, set out a number of proposals for changes to the way services are delivered. Our plans for implementation include:
	Children's trusts: We plan to establish pilots for children's trusts during 2003.
	Reimbursement: It is hoped subject to parliamentary time, to introduce legislation, which will allow us to implement reimbursement for delayed discharge from hospital.
	Care trusts: The first four care trusts were established on 1 April 2002. A further five sites are now working to develop care trust proposals locally, to be up and running by April 2003.
	Regulation for direct payments: Regulations to ensure all older people assessed as having care needs are provided with the choice of direct payments will be issued for consultation shortly with the intention to implement by January 2003.
	Strategic commissioning group report: I have asked the strategic commissioning group to report to me in 2003, on how local voluntary and community organisations could play a bigger part in the delivery of social services.
	Less bureaucracy: We have reduced significantly the number of planning documents associated with social services grants from seven this year to two next year, and to one the year after.
	Greater freedoms: From the next financial year the best performing social services departments will have the freedom to spend social services grant on any aspect of social care, the right to carry out resources between financial years, less form filling and less inspection. We are currently discussing with my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister further freedoms for the best performing councils.

Suicide

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  by what means the National Institute for Mental Health in England will identify suicide hotspots; and who will have responsiblity to take action in respect of them;
	(2)  what action he plans to take in respect of locations at which suicide is frequently committed.

Jacqui Smith: The National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) will be working with a number of local agencies to develop guidance on identifying and taking appropriate action at suicide hotspots. This will involve close partnership working with a number of local agencies including police and emergency services, local authorities, the national health service and voluntary sector, railway authorities and coroners. Specific intervention and prevention measures will depend on the nature and location of each hotspot identified.

Suicide

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is carrying out the suicide and open verdict on the railways report; and when it is expected to be published.

Jacqui Smith: The suicide and open verdict on the railway network (SOVRN) project is a three-year study. SOVRN is co-sponsored by railway safety and the national health service, managed through Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare NHS Trust, and in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, Community Health Sheffield NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham. The report is due to be published in December 2002.

Truancy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role the Department of Health and its statutory agencies will play in truancy sweeps.

Jacqui Smith: Health and social services were involved in truancy sweeps in 82 of the local education authorities, which reported on the May truancy sweep exercise. Health professionals, such as community psychiatric nurses and social workers, focus on follow-up work with individual children and/or families.

Waiting Lists

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people waiting more than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months and (d) 12 months for (i) speech and language therapy, (ii) treatment for depression, (iii) occupational therapy and (iv) chiropody services; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 24 October 2002
	Waiting times data are collected on in-patient elective admissions and first outpatient appointments following general practitioner referral and are specifically consultant led services with data attributed to the consultant's main specialty function. Data on patients' waiting times are not collected by the categories in the question.

Audiology Services

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to set national standards for waiting times in audiology services from time of referral to fitting.

Jacqui Smith: There are no plans, at this time, to set national standards for waiting times for audiology services. The modernising hearing aid services project is being extended so that by the end of this financial year there will be 50 sites involved, with at least a further 15 equipped to supply digital hearing aids from next April. A new, more streamlined patient process will be introduced at these second wave sites from the outset and at first wave sites over the next few months. In addition we are in the middle of a pilot which is looking at the role the private sector can play in reducing waiting times for supply of digital hearing aids. We will continue to look at ways of reducing the waiting times for hearing aid services as the project moves on.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Criminal Records Bureau

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the findings of the investigation into the Criminal Records Bureau; and what changes he proposes to implement.

Hilary Benn: In early September the Home Secretary appointed an independent team to review the situation at the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The review is continuing. The main focus of the team's work centres on what needs to be done to ensure the medium and long-term success of the service. They are taking a fundamental look at all aspects of the CRB's operation and will report to the Home Secretary in due course.

Criminal Records Bureau

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the time for each Criminal Records Bureau check on (a) teachers and (b) classroom assistants in England and Wales;
	(2)  what his latest estimate is of the time taken for each Criminal Records Bureau check on childminder applicants in England and Wales.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 15 October 2002
	The estimated average turnaround of checks processed by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) remains at approximately six weeks. This is measured from the point at which a correctly completed form is received by CRB, accompanied by all relevant supporting details. No distinction is made in relation to the profession of an applicant. They are all subject to the same level of service.

Criminal Records Bureau

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what penalties have been incurred by Capita on the Criminal Records Bureau contract; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: There is provision for penalties for delay or poor performance. Liquidated damages have been incurred by Capita for delay although the details remain commercial in confidence and cannot be divulged. The main priority is for the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita to collaborate in order to achieve further improvement in the quality of service.

Asylum Seekers

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which professional organisations were consulted prior to the decision to withdraw asylum seekers' right to work;
	(2) what representations he received concerning the right of new asylum seekers to get permission to work after six months being removed (a) before and (b) subsequent to the announcement.

Beverley Hughes: We received a number of written representations regarding the general issue of asylum seekers and entitlement to work earlier this year as part of the wider consultation exercise on our White Paper, 'Secure Borders, Safe Haven'. All of these responses have been placed in the Library, with the exception of those respondents who indicated they did not wish their responses to be published.
	We also received representations fromthe Refugee Council following our announcement to end the concession.
	We did not consult directly with other organisations immediately prior to announcing abolition of the concession. Improved timeliness of initial decisions by the Immigration Nationality Directorate had made the concession largely irrelevant in practice so wider consultation would have added no real value.

Asylum Seekers

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from Cameroon applied for asylum in the UK in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) to date this year; and what percentage was successful in each year.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is given in the table. Data on initial decisions are independent of applications data, and do not all necessarily relate to applications lodged in the same period.
	
		Asylum applications received in the United Kindom, and initial decisions, excluding dependants, Cameroon, January 2000 to June 2000(14),(15) 
		
			 Initial Decisions 
			  Total applications(16) Total initial decisions Cases considered under normal procedures(17) Cases considered under backlog clearance exercise(18)  
			Total Grants of asylum (percentage) Grants of ELR Refusals Total Grants of asylum or ELR Refusals(19)  
		
		
			 2000 355 285 260 8 3 89 25 96 4 
			 2001p 370 565 565 9 5 87 - - - 
			 January to June 2002p 280 265 265 7 9 85 - - - 
		
	
	(14) Figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest five.
	(15) Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
	(16) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January and March 2000.
	(17) Cases considered under the normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
	(18) Case decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
	(19) Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
	p Provisional data.
	Information on appeals is given in the table. Appeals in any given time period do not necessarily relate to initial decisions made by the Home Office. The figures exclude any further appeals (Immigration Appeals Tribunal, Court of Appeal, judicial review, House of Lords).
	
		Appeals in asylum cases, brought by nationals of Cameroon, determined by adjudicators of the Immigration Appellate authority January 2000 to June 2002(20) 
		
			  Total Determined Allowed (perentage) Dismissed (percentage) Withdrawn(21)  
		
		
			 2000 N/A N/A N/A N/A 
			 2001 195 25   
			 January to June 2002 165 29 68 2 
		
	
	(20) Provisional estimated figutrse rounded (other than percentrages) to the nearest 5.
	(21) Includes appeals withdrawn by the appellant and the Home Office.
	N/A Date are not available for 2000.
	Information on asylum applications and initial decisions is published quarterly. The next publication will cover the third quarter (July to September) of 2002 and will be available from 29 November 2002 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1 .html.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers from Sri Lanka have been repatriated in each month for the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The latest 12 months data available for removals of Sri Lankan principal asylum applicants is for April 2001 to March 2002 and are given in the table.
	
		
			 Month Sri Lankan Principal applicants(22),(23)  
		
		
			 April 2001 10 
			 May 10 
			 June 20 
			 July 15 
			 August 10 
			 September 10 
			 October 15 
			 November 15 
			 December 15 
			 January 2002 20 
			 February 25 
			 March 25 
		
	
	(22) Estimates of asylum removals by nationality—principal applicants removed only. Includes persons departing 'voluntarily' after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and persons leaving under assisted voluntary returns programmes run by the international organisation for migration
	(23) Figures are rounded to nearest five.
	I regret that it is not possible to determine how many were repatriated, as persons removed from the UK are not necessarily returned to their country of origin. Information on the destination of those removed is not collated centrally and could only be obtained by examination of individual casefiles at disproportionate cost.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent information on in-country conditions in Sri Lanka have been received from (a) other Government departments and (b) other organisations relating to the return of failed Tamil asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Sri Lanka country assessment was updated in October 2002. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British High Commission in Colombo both contribute up to date information and check the accuracy of the document. A range of other information is used from organisations such as Amnesty International, the British Refugee Council and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. A full list of the source material from these organisations can be found at annex D of the Country Assessment, which will be posted imminently on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Commission for Racial Equality

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the commissioners of the CRE, their dates of appointment and their remuneration.

Beverley Hughes: The names of the current commissioners of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), their dates of appointments and their remuneration as of 1 April 2002 are listed in the table:
	
		
			 Number/Position Name Date of appointment Remuneration (#) 
		
		
			 1.Chair (Acting) 
			 Beverley Bernard as Deputy Chair Beverley Bernard 
			 Beverley Bernard 7 August 2002 
			 1 July 2000 (24) 100,000.00 
			 (24) 55,527 
			 2. Deputy Chair (Acting) 
			 Khurshid Ahmed as Commissioner Khurshid Ahmed 23 August 2002 
			 1 April 2002 (25) 250.00 
			 (26) 3,075.00 
			 3. Deputy Chair (Acting) 
			 Ian Barr as Commissioner representing the interests of the CBI Ian Barr 23 August 2002  
			 1 April 2002 (25) 250.00 
			 (26) 3,075.00 
			 4. Commissioner representing Scottish Interests Kay Hampton 1 April 2002 (26) 4,612.00  
			 5. Commissioner representing Welsh Interests Cherry Short 1 April 1998 (26) 4,612.00 
			 6. Commissioner representing the interest of the TUC Gloria Mills 1 April 2002 (26) 3,075.00 
			 7. Jagdish Gundara 1 April 2002 (26) 3,075.00 
			 8. Sarah Spencer 1 April 2002 (26) 3,075.00 
			 9. Patrick Passley 1 April 1999 (26) 3,075.00 
			 10. Shushila Patel 1 April 1999 (26) 3,075.00 
			 11. Gita Sootarsing 1 April 1999 (26) 3,075.00 
			 12. Kamaljett Jandu 1 June 2000 (26) 3,075.00 
		
	
	(24) Pro rata
	(25) A day
	(26) Per annum(Commissioners are required to commit a minimum 20 days per annum, 30 days for those representing Scottish and Welsh interests

Commission for Racial Equality

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he last met (a) the Acting Chairman of the CRE, and (b) Mr. Gurbux Singh, in an official capacity.

Beverley Hughes: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary met Beverley Bernard, the Acting Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), on 30 October. This was the first official meeting as, due to diary commitments, previous meetings have not been possible.
	My right hon. Friend last met with Gurbux Singh on 29 May 2002, in an official capacity.
	The Home Secretary has regular quarterly meetings with the Chair or Acting Chair of the CRE to keep each other updated on issues of current and mutual interest with regard to race relations and equality. They also meet on other occasions during the year.

Commission for Racial Equality

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which publications the post of Chairman of the CRE has been advertised.

Beverley Hughes: The advertisement has appeared in the following publications:
	Daily Mail
	Daily Telegraph
	Asian Times, Eastern Eye, Caribbean Times, New Nation
	Jewish Chronicle
	Scotland on Sunday
	Scotsman
	South Wales Echo
	The Guardian
	The Sunday Telegraph
	The Sunday Times
	The Times
	Voice
	Western Mail
	Websites:
	Muslim News website (the publication timetable did not allow for it to go in the monthly newspaper)
	Office of the Commissioner of public appointments (OCPA) and Home Office Public Appointments
	The Times/Sunday Times
	The Guardian

Criminal Justice

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take to alter public perception found in Improving Public Attitudes to the Criminal Justice System, Home Office Research Study 245, that crime was increasing.

Hilary Benn: The Government believe that the key to improving public perception of crime and criminal justice is to continue to deliver reductions in crime and improvements in the way the criminal justice system operates.
	The recently published White Paper, Justice for All, set out what needs to be done to modernise and improve the Criminal Justice System (CJS). The Home Office has been set targets for reducing crime and the fear of crime, improving the delivery of justice and increasing confidence in the criminal justice system.
	The Government are committed to improving the prevention and detection of crime, convicting the guilty and rehabilitating offenders so they do not offend again. Reform will also ensure that justice is seen to serve and protect the interests of the community, and especially victims of crime.
	The presentation of statistical information about crime has been made clearer and more comprehensive by combining publication of recorded crime statistics and information from the British Crime Survey. An objective in all our communication activity is to work with our partners to close the gap between the public perception that crime is rising against the reality of long term falls in crime. The media make an important contribution to public perceptions of crime, and efforts are being made to encourage responsible reporting of crime. We are also exploring alternative ways to provide accurate information about crime to the public.
	The Government have made a commitment to increase the number of crimes that result in the perpetrator being brought to justice, an initiative called 'Narrowing the Justice Gap'. A co-ordinated strategy based on: tackling weaknesses in the criminal justice process; targeting types of offender, particularly persistent offenders; and targeting specific types of offence, aims to bring 1.2 million offences to justice by 2005–06. Narrowing the justice gap not only reduces crime but also demonstrates that the criminal justice system is effective and responsive to the needs and concerns of victims and witnesses. The perception that criminals are Xgetting away with it" is hugely damaging to confidence levels. The Government have made improvement in this area their key aim for the CJS.
	We also have a responsibility to promote confidence in the CJS and we are actively working on a programme of work in this area. This will be based on ensuring that the public are aware of the impact of reform and improvements in the delivery of justice.

Entitlement Cards

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consulation is due to end on the issue of entitlement cards.

Beverley Hughes: The consultation paper on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud published by my right hon Friend the Home Secretary on 3 July stated that the.consultation period would last until 10 January 2003.
	The Government has decided to extend the consultation period to 31 January 2003 to allow organisations a little more time to prepare their responses.

Fireworks

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths and serious injuries have been caused by fireworks in the UK in each of the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	The years for which the number of deaths and injuries from fireworks are available are specified in the table. These figures are extracted from the annual DTI firework injuries statistics based on returns from the accident and emergency departments of hospitals in Great Britain. They are collected over a 4-week period in October and November each year. Serious injuries are not separately identified in the statistics.
	
		
			  Overall firework injuries Deaths from firework injuries 
		
		
			 1990 805 0 
			 1991 723 0 
			 1992 942 0 
			 1993 1,058 0 
			 1994 1,574 0 
			 1995 1,529 0 
			 1996 1,233 0 
			 1997 908 0 
			 1998 831 0 
			 1999 1,056 0 
			 2000 972 2 
			 2001 1,362 0

Mal Hussain

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a public inquiry into the case of Mr Mal Hussain of the Ryelands estate in Lancaster and the role of the public authorities in protecting him from racial harassment; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: This matter is under consideration and a decision will be announced shortly.

Registered Charities (Sports Clubs)

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1) if he will list community amateur sports clubs that are now registered as charities;
	(2)  how many community amateur sports clubs (a) have applied and (b) are registered with the Charity Commission as a community amateur sports club.

Beverley Hughes: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department that registers charities in England and Wales. The Director of Operations of the Charity Commission will write to the hon Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

African Natural Resources

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what discussions her Department has had with the Governments of (a) Rwanda and (b) Uganda regarding illegal exploitation of natural resources by their citizens in the DRC; and what action these Governments plan to take;
	(2)  what discussions her Department has had with the Governments of (a) Rwanda, (b) the DRC, (c) Uganda and (d) Burundi regarding border controls and their ability to monitor the flow of natural resources with particular reference to (i) diamonds and (ii) cotton.

Clare Short: There have been regular discussions with the Governments of Uganda and Rwanda at both ministerial and official levels since the first UN panel report on exploitation of resources in the DRC was published. We have urged both Governments to work openly and constructively with the panel team and take seriously any allegations of exploitation. The final UN panel report was issued on 18 October. The Government of Uganda have already established a judicial enquiry into the allegations in a previous report, and this report is due on 15 November. The Government of Rwanda have rejected this report, as they did earlier ones, on the grounds that it is politically motivated and lacking in corroborative evidence. While we share many of the Government of Rwanda's criticisms of the report, we will continue to encourage the Government of Rwanda to take action to address the panel's accusations in an open manner. We believe the most important focus for future work is achieve peace and work to help the DRC and other Great Lakes countries put trade and the exploitation of mineral resources on to a well-regulated, transparent basis.

Burundi

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the peace process in Burundi and the assistance provided by the British Government to that process.

Clare Short: We are supporting all international efforts to promote an end to conflict and achieve a secure and lasting peace in Burundi, through full implementation of the Arusha Peace Accord, as a necessary prerequisite for sustained economic development. We are at the same time helping to address the immediate material needs of Burundi's people by supporting humanitarian programmes largely through non-governmental channels.
	There have been some positive developments in the on-going peace process. The Regional Summit held in Dar-es-Salaam on 7 October welcomed the recent signing of a cease-fire agreement with the Transitional Government of Burundi by two of the remaining rebel forces not party to the Arusha Peace Accord, CNDD-FDD (Jean-Bosco) and PALIPEHUTU-FNL (Mugabarabona). The summit agreed an extension of 30 days to allow for the negotiation of similar cease-fire agreements with the two largest remaining rebel groups CNDD-FDD (Nkurunziza) and PALIPEHUTU-FNL (Rwasa).
	The British Government have been co-ordinating with other donors to help the facilitation efforts of the South Africans, Gabonese and Tanzanians. We have committed #250,000 to this through ACCORD, a South African NGO involved in peace-building in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere. We are also providing support to peace and reconciliation activities in Burundi through other NGOs

Cote d'Ivoire

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian impact of the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire; what response her Department and the international community have made to those needs; what steps are being taken to establish peace; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: We have not undertaken an independent assessment of the humanitarian impact of the conflict in Cote d'lvoire. However we are monitoring the situation closely and are in regular contact with UN agencies in the field. The UN held an Emergency Regional Contingency Planning meeting in Accra from 17–18 October to discuss the situation. We are awaiting their assessment of likely humanitarian needs.
	We are working closely with the international community to bring about a swift and peaceful resolution to the conflict. We consider that the best hope for peace lies in an African led solution and we are supporting the efforts of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to mediate in the conflict. An ECOWAS mediation team has succeeded at establishing contact with the rebels and gaining commitment from both parties to a ceasefire and the start of negotiations. It is also proposed that an ECOWAS monitoring force be established to replace the French troops currently providing a buffer force between the two sides. The plans for this force are still under discussion. The UK has provided a military adviser to assist ECOWAS in their efforts.

Departmental Job Vacancies

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many job vacancies there were at (a) administrative assistant or equivalent, (b) administrative officer or equivalent, (c) administrative executive officer, (d) higher executive officer, (e) senior executive officer, (f) grade 7 principal and (g) all positions above grade 7 level in her Department for jobs located in London and (i) the south-east between 1April 2001 and 31 March; and what is the total employment for each civil service grade.

Clare Short: holding answer 28 October 2002
	The total numbers of staff in each civil service grade employed in DFID's London headquarters is set out in the table. There are no DFID staff employed in the south-east region outside London. Details of vacancies are not collated centrally and are, therefore, unavailable. However, it is worth pointing out that, by and large, DFID does not have difficulty in recruiting staff in London and vacancies rarely remain unfilled for any length of time.
	
		
			 Total staff in London—position as at 1 April 2001 Grade 
		
		
			 45 C2 (administrative assistant equivalent) 
			 137 C1 (administrative officer equivalent) 
			 130 B2 (executive officer equivalent) 
			 184 B1 (higher executive officer equivalent) 
			 39 A3 (senior executive officer equivalent) 
			 140 A2 (grade 7 equivalent) 
			 164 above A2 (grade 6 and above)

Ghana

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what discussions her Department has had with the Government of Ghana regarding urban street children;
	(2)  what initiatives her Department supports to eliminate the poverty of urban street children in Ghana.

Clare Short: The Government are committed to supporting the Government of Ghana to deliver its priorities against the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS). Children in difficult circumstances, such as street children, are identified as a vulnerable and excluded group in the GPRS. Planned Government of Ghana interventions include slum upgrading and partnership programmes with non-government organisations that seek to safeguard children. The Government are also supporting civil society initiatives that protect children in Ghana and West Africa through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and Partnership Programme Agreements with Action Aid and Save the Children.

Intellectual Property Rights

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Meriden on 28 October 2002, Official Report, columns 548–49W.

Overseas Aid (Indonesia)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance her Department (a) has offered and (b) plans to offer the Government of Indonesia to assist with the (i) victims of the terrorist bomb in Bali and (ii) loss of livelihoods incurred by employees within the tourist sector in Bali.

Clare Short: The immediate medical needs of Indonesian victims of the terrorist bomb have been met by the Government of Indonesia and Balinese non- government organisations. Officials from my Department have undertaken an assessment of longer term needs, alongside colleagues from the United Nations, Australia and the United States. Based on this assessment we are considering a range of activities to support victims of the bombing, including post trauma counselling, conflict prevention initiatives and technical support for the Indonesian authorities in Bali.
	In addition, DFID, other donors and the Government of Indonesia, are assessing the impact of the bombing on the national and local economies, and will consider how best donors can support economic recovery. My Department will contribute to the international effort once needs are defined.

Presidential Meeting

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting between President Museveni and President Kagame in London last week.

Clare Short: President Museveni and President Kagame recommitted themselves and their Governments to the Understanding they signed last November in London on not interfering in each others' political and security affairs. They agreed to make more regular and effective use of the mechanisms that had been put in place to resolve differences and to avoid recourse to the use of the media. The UK agreed to continue to act as third party in this process.
	Equally importantly, Presidents Museveni and Kagame agreed to work together to achieve pace and stability in the region. They urged President Mbeki of South Africa, as Chairman of the African Union, to convene an urgent regional summit to call on all parties to fully implement the Pretoria and Luanda peace agreements.
	Presidents Museveni and Kagame shared my deep concern at the situation in Burundi and agreed we should all work together, especially with the Governments of Tanzania and South Africa, to get a full ceasefire and support the Transitional National Government under the Arusha Accords.

Sudan

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action she is taking to help end the war in Sudan; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: The UK role in supporting the peace process is led jointly by the FCO and DFID. The UK Special Representative for Sudan, Alan Goulty, leads the UK observer delegation at the peace talks. He is supported by a joint FCO-DFID Sudan Unit. He and his team co-ordinate with the mediators and other observers at Machakos so that we can complement each other's efforts to deliver the best results. We carry out intensive consultations with the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Khartoum and elsewhere. We ensure that UK policy and the peace process are fully understood by other interested Governments and co-ordinate with international partners, including the EU; our collective approach to implementing an eventual peace agreement. This year, we have committed over #8 million to support both humanitarian work and the peace process.

UNHCR

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) assessment her Department has made of safeguards against and (b) discussions she has had with the UNHCR regarding the sexual exploitation of women in refugee camps.

Clare Short: My Department has closely monitored developments regarding the investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) into allegations of sexual exploitation of refugee women and girls by humanitarian aid workers and peacekeepers in refugee camps in West Africa. While the OIOS report found no involvement by UNHCR staff in acts of sexual exploitation, from a total of 43 cases of possible sexual exploitation investigated by the OIOS team 10 cases were substantiated by evidence. This finding confirms that the issue of sexual exploitation is a significant one and that it is not just confined to West Africa—but wherever refugees find themselves in similarly desperate and vulnerable circumstances.
	The report crucially identifies several factors which contribute to sexual exploitation in refugee communities including aspects of refugee camp life, camp structure, camp security, food and services distribution, employment opportunities, profiles of camp workers, and the quality and quantities of food and other relief items distributed.
	UNHCR has, in partnership with other concerned UN agencies, instituted a number of remedial measures and preventative actions to enhance the prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Specifically, in West Africa these include: increasing the accountability of humanitarian workers through the design of country-specific standards, applicable to all UN agencies and international and local NGOs; raising awareness of rights and entitlements in refugee communities through education and advocacy campaigns; increases in-field presence and improved training in sexual training and gender-based issues for UNHCR staff; improved reporting and monitoring procedures to speed up the identification of victims; building on existing programmes to better facilitate equal access and control of material resources as well as strengthening support to victims and groups at risk.
	There exist additional measures which extend to the rest of Africa which, in turn, complement UNHCR's efforts on a global front, specifically the UNHCR Code of Conduct which aims to guide the behaviour and attitude of all UNHCR international and local staff in terms of the standards of conduct that are expected to be adhered to in the UN Charter and the Staff Regulation and Rules.
	We will, through our close relationship with UNHCR in the field and through our participation at the Standing and Executive Committees in Geneva, continue to monitor progress on all these fronts.

World Food Programme (Africa)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution her Department has made to (a) the World Food Programme for Saharawi refugees and (b) the additional appeal by the WFP for funding for Saharawi refugees in the last year.

Clare Short: DFID has not contributed directly to the World Food Programme (WFP) funding for Saharawi refugees. Our assistance to the Saharawi refugees is channelled through contributions to the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO). A new global plan agreed by the EC in May will provide Euro14.34 million of assistance to the Saharawi refugees over a 15-month period. The total assistance provided since 1993 is over Euro95 million, including over Euro79 million in food aid co-ordinated by ECHO, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the WFP. ECHO works in close co-ordination and co-operation with the WFP to provide basic food items to the Saharawi refugees. 19 per cent. of ECHO funding comes from my Department's budget.

Yugoslavia

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what organisations she met on her recent visit to Yugoslavia; and with whom she had discussions.

Clare Short: I visited Belgrade on 7 October 2002, to meet with various Republic of Serbia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) representatives; I then flew to Pristina to have meetings with Kosovo and UN representatives, returning to the UK on 9 October. Meetings held were as follows:
	
		
			 Separate meetings Roundtable discussions 
		
		
			 Belgrade  
			 Vojislav Kostunica, FRY President 
			 Miroljub Labus, FRY Deputy Prime Minister 
			 Goran Svilanovic, FRY Foreign Minister 
			 Goran Pitic, Serbian Minister for International Economic Relations 
			 Rory O'Sullivan, Head of the World Bank Office, Belgrade 
			 Richard Zink, Director European Agency for Reconstruction Gordana Matkovic, Serbian Minister of Social Affairs  
			 Dragan Milovanovic, Serbian Minister of Labour and Employment 
			 Aleksandar Vlahovic, Serbian Minister of Economy and Privatisation  
			 Dejan Popovic, Serbian Deputy Minister of Finance  
			 Gordana Lazarevic, Assistant Minister, Serbian Ministry of International Economic Relations 
			  Discussion with DFID funded consultants on Privatisation, Banking, Social Policy and Justice projects 
			  
			 Pristina  
			 Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo 
			 Bajram Rexhepi, Prime Minister of Kosovo 
			 Charles Brayshaw, Principal Deputy Senior Representative of the Secretary General, United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)  
			 Richard Zink (Director), Michael Doyle (Head of Programming) and Thierry Bernard-Guele (Head of Operations), European Agency for Reconstruction Jean-Christian Cady, Deputy Special Representative for UNMIK Pillar One (Police and Justice) 
			 Gerard Fischer, UNMIK Pillar Two (Civil Administration)  
			 Freidhelm Frischenschlager UNMIK Pillar Three (Institution-Building)  
			 Andy Bearpark, Deputy Special Representative for UNMIK Pillar Four (Reconstruction)  
			  
			  Other donors: 
			 Sidi Boubacar (World Bank), Earl Gast (USAID), Robert Piper (UNDP), Peter Rondorf (German Office), Anna Maria Madsen (Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Tamara Sorger (CIDA), Christoffer Sjoholm (SIDA) and Valerie Sluitjer (Netherlands Office)  
			  Young Kosovar Representatives: 
			 Arianit Shehu (National Democracy Insitute), Jetemir Balaj (Forum(NGO), Arieta Emra (British Council), Leon Malazogu (Kosovo Civil Society Foundation), Albin Kurti (student leader) Jehona Gjurgjeala (KACI(NGO), Fisnik Abrashi (Chevening Scholar), Tanja Martic (OSCE) and Vladimir Josifovic ('Just Do It'(NGO)

LORD CHANCELLOR

Firefighters' Strike

Nigel Evans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what preparations he has made to ensure the safety and continuity of service to the public in the event of a firefighters' strike.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Local Government on 28 October 2002, Official Report, column 527W.

Public Guardianship Office

Huw Edwards: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the Public Guardianship Office public service agreement contains assurances about the time it would normally take to deal with cases; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Public Guardianship Office (PGO) has Service Delivery Agreement targets, (SDAs) supporting the Lord Chancellor's Department Public Service Agreements (PSAs).
	The PGO's targets are as follows:
	by 2004 to complete the review of 100 per cent. of accounts received or have requested further information within four weeks of receipt, with an interim target of 95 per cent. within six weeks by 2002 (to apply to both Receivership and Protection Divisions);
	and by 2004, to collect 65per cent. of accounts within two calendar months of the accounting end date, 85 within four calendar months of the accounting end date, and 100 per cent. within six calendar months of the accounting end date referring cases to the Court of Protection where necessary or taking other steps to ensure proper accounts are produced on behalf of clients [applies to Protection clients only].
	The PGO is on course to meet these targets.

Service to the Community

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to encourage employers to enable employees to undertake service to the community for magisterial and other duties without being out of pocket; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Many employers view service as a magistrate as a valuable contribution and allow their employees paid time off to undertake their duties. Where magistrates do not receive paid time off they can claim a financial loss allowance linked to average gross earnings. The LCD is working with the Magistrates Association, with whom it has produced a guide for employers, and through local Advisory Committees, who are in touch with businesses in their area, to encourage employers to support staff who wish to serve the community in this way

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Women Entrepreneurs

Huw Edwards: To ask the Minister for Women what she is doing to increase the number of women setting up their own businesses.

Patricia Hewitt: The Cross-cutting Review of Government Services for Small Businesses, published earlier this month, reinforced our commitment to encourage more women entrepreneurs. Yesterday I attended the launch of Prowess, an organisation promoting women's enterprise, which is supported by the Small Business Service's Phoenix Fund. The SBS is working with Prowess and key Departments to develop a strategic framework to foster women's enterprise.

Race and Employment Directives

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Minister for Women if she will make a statement on the implementation of the Article 13 Directives on Race and Employment and the feasibility study on a single equality body.

Patricia Hewitt: My hon Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) last week published a summary paper setting out the Government's plans to take forward implementation of the Race and Employment Directives, and a consultation paper on creating the right framework to support equality legislation.

Equal Pay

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for Women what proportion of her time was spent over the last month on the pay gap between the sexes.

Patricia Hewitt: In the last month I have launched the public consultation on the Equal Pay Questionnaire. My hon Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) and I have hosted the first annual Castle Awards ceremony, which recognised steps taken by employers to address issues of pay inequality. Because the provisions of appropriate childcare for working parents can help in closing the gender pay gap, I have also been working with my noble Friend the Baroness Ashton of Upholland and colleagues in other Government Departments on developing a delivery plan for childcare.

Equal Pay

David Kidney: To ask the Minister for Women what plans she has to introduce legislation to enforce equal pay by criminal law sanction.

Patricia Hewitt: I have no plans to enforce equal pay by criminal law sanction. Since the Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1970 the pay gap has reduced from 37 per cent. to 19 per cent. today.
	We have amended the law to provide for equal pay questionnaires and every Government Department and Agency is conducting an Equal Pay review by April 2003.

Equal Pay

Jim Knight: To ask the Minister for Women what steps she is taking to reduce the pay gap between the sexes.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government has set in place a number of measures designed to tackle the gender pay gap. We are leading by example, through our commitment to equal pay reviews in the Civil Service'; we are making it easier for women to get equal pay through changes in the Employment Act 2002; we are making it easier for employers to pay fairly through the work of the Fair Play Champions and the Castle Awards, and we are tackling the wider causes of the pay gap by helping mothers stay attached to the labour market, investing more resources than any other Government in childcare, improving the skill levels of those already in the labour market and helping employers make the most of their female workforce.

Public Appointments

Dr. Harris: To ask the Minister for Women what progress has been made in increasing the proportion of women appointed to non-departmental public bodies since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: At 31 March 2001, as set out in Public Bodies 2001, 34 per cent of appointments were held by women, this is 2 per cent. up since 1997.
	We are determined to deliver on our aim that women should hold 45–50 per cent. of public appointments made by the majority of Government departments by the end of 2005 and to address any constraints on diversity and equal representation.
	Throughout 2002, we have led a national outreach campaign on women and public appointments, we have reached over 2000 women across the country and the vast majority have said they are now more likely to apply for public appointments.

Political Candidates

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister for Women what assistance she offers to political parties who wish to reduce the imbalance between the sexes among their candidates.

Patricia Hewitt: The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act received Royal Assent in February this year. It enables political parties, if they wish, to use positive measures to reduce inequality in the numbers of men and women elected.
	We are also reforming government to make it a more attractive option to women, through improving the hours and working environments at all levels of government. However, it is for political parties themselves to decide arrangements for selecting parliamentary candidates. The Government has provided the framework and I am encouraged by the level of cross party support we received for the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act. It has galvanised debates within all parties and I very much hope that as a result we shall see more women being selected to stand.

Greenfield Report

Ian Gibson: To ask the Minister for Women when she will release the Greenfield Report.

Patricia Hewitt: I am looking forward to receiving the final version of the noble Baroness Greenfield's report on women in Science, Engineering and Technology. I expect to receive the final version of Baroness Greenfield's report on how we can better promote women in Science, Engineering and Technology by the end of next month. The Department will publish the report as soon as we receive it.

Work-life Balance

David Crausby: To ask the Minister for Women what action she is taking to enable working women to balance work and family life.

Patricia Hewitt: From next April, working women will benefit from the enhanced maternity pay and leave; and mothers, as well as fathers with children under the age of 6, or disabled children under 18, will have the right to apply for flexible working arrangements. Their employers will have a statutory duty to consider their requests seriously. The Government's Work-Life Balance Campaign also encourages all employers to follow best practice and offer flexible working arrangements to the benefit of all working women.
	By 2003–4, annual investment in the Government's National Childcare Strategy will have increased to over #200 million, a three-fold increase on the #66 million in 2000–1, to benefit 1.6 million children in England.
	Two new tax credits will be introduced next April, the Child Tax Credit, income related and paid directly to the main carer in the family; and the Working Tax Credit paid to low income working people with or without children. These will replace the existing tax credits, and simplify the system to ensure that people get financial support when they most need it.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress made in appointing the new Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice.

Des Browne: Work is ongoing on a revised Implementation Plan for the Criminal Justice Review, which will include details of progress made on the establishment of a Criminal Justice Inspectorate and the appointment of a new Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland. The appointment will be made through open competition. We hope to publish the revised Implementation Plan by early 2003.

Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the additional organisations to come within the remit of the new Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice.

Des Browne: The Lord Privy Seal (The Lord Williams of Mostyn) will shortly be writing to Members, following an undertaking at Lords Third Reading stage of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act, to update them on progress made on the consultation process on which additional organisations might be added to the list of organisations which will come under the remit of the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice. We hope to bring forward a draft order, using the order-making power at section 46(6) of the Act, before the Christmas recess.

CBI Business Manifesto

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the Business Manifesto issued by the Confederation of British Industry for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I welcome this Business Manifesto, which sets out how the CBI sees the important interaction between the public and private sectors to achieve a better economic future. The Manifesto addresses many of the issues which are of critical importance to the development of the Northern Ireland economy and which relate closely to the strategic priorities developed by the Economic Development Forum. I look forward, with my ministerial colleagues, to exploring the proposals contained in the Manifesto.

Down Lisburn Trust

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps will be taken to improve levels of funding to the Down Lisburn Trust by the Eastern Health and Social Services Board.

Des Browne: The Eastern Health and Social Services Board is currently reviewing the equitable distribution of resources to its sub-board populations in light of the recently published results of the 2001 Census of population. Based on the results of this review, the Board will develop a strategy to address the locality equity issue. Following public consultation the implementation of the resultant strategy should commence from April 2003.

Downpatrick (New Hospital)

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will announce a new hospital for Downpatrick in December.

Des Browne: Decisions on the way forward on the redevelopment of the Downe Hospital will be taken following analysis and consideration of the responses to the consultation paper "Developing Better Services—Modernising Hospitals and Reforming Structures". While I would like to be in a position to announce the way forward before the end of this year, it is not possible, at this stage, to be definitive about when decisions will be taken.

Lee James Booth

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason a post-mortem report was not made available to the bereaved parents of Lee James Booth until 22 July; and whether it is the normal practice for fluids to be administered by mouth so soon after major surgery.

Des Browne: I understand that in seeking to respond to the high volume of calls from distressed relatives, pathologists were not able to make the report available to the parents of Lee James Booth until that date. The Royal Victoria Hospital has apologised to the family for the distress that this delay in conveying the report caused all those concerned.
	The Royal Victoria Hospital has advised that it is unable to comment on the reasons for any actions taken in respect of Lee James Booth as these would have been contained in the patient's medical record which is no longer available, having been destroyed after 25 years.

Post-mortem Forms

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland where post-mortem forms (a) signed and (b) unsigned by relatives are stored; and for how many years they are kept in storage.

Des Browne: Normal practice is to keep post mortem consent forms with the patient's medical record. In the case of adults these are kept for eight years. Children's charts are kept for 25 years

Royal Victoria Hospital

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland during what period Dr. Molloy was the resident heart surgeon/consultant at the Royal Victoria Hospital; and during this time, what his heart surgery (a) death and (b) success rate was.

Des Browne: The information requested is not available.

Royal Victoria Hospital

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the names of the clergy who have officiated at the dignified disposal of retained organs at the Royal Victoria Hosptial since 1972.

Des Browne: It was not normal practice for clergy to be present at the disposal of retained organs. The Hospital has advised that none were present under the auspices of the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Royal Victoria Hospital

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will initiate an inquiry into (a) the loss of 10 years' records at the Royal Victoria Hospital and (b) the numbers of organs disposed of in clear-outs at the hospital's organ and tissue store.

Des Browne: As the Human Organs Inquiry observed, it was never anticipated that the records of post mortems would come under such scrutiny so many years after being written. They are not generally computerised and some of them have been lost over time. The inquiry report drew attention to the inadequacy of record-keeping systems, including difficulties in identifying and tracking organs once they were removed. An inquiry into the loss of these particular records is not considered necessary, and my Department has established a steering group to see that improvements in record keeping will be identified and implemented. The method of record keeping previously used within the Royal does not allow for information on the numbers of organs disposed of in clear-outs at the hospitals organ and tissue store to be collated.

Royal Victoria Hospital

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when an organ was last retained following a post-mortem performed at the Royal Victoria Hospital; and what access relatives have to information as to what happened to retained organs.

Des Browne: The Royal Victoria Hospital has informed me that on occasion it is still necessary to retain organs for examination. This is only done with the fully informed consent of relatives who agree in advance on what will happen to the retained organs.

PRIME MINISTER

Mr. Andrew Adonis

David Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the duties and responsibilities of Mr. Andrew Adonis; what dealings he has directly with Ministers; to whom he reports; and whether he has applied for leave of absence;
	(2)  on what basis Mr Andrew Adonis was appointed; and for how long it is intended he remains in his present post.

Tony Blair: I appointed Andrew Adonis on 20 April 1998 as a special adviser under the terms and conditions set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers and in line with the requirements of paragraph 50 of the Ministerial Code.
	Mr Adonis is Head of Policy in my office. The duties and responsibilities of special advisers are set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers at Schedule 1 to the Model Contract.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister when the annual report of the Commissioner appointed under section 59(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 will be laid before the House; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: A copy of the annual report for 2001 by the right hon. Lord Justice Simon Brown has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 60 (4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The confidential annex to the report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 60 (5) of the Act and in line with the Commissioner's recommendation.
	Lord Justice Simon Brown has served as Commissioner for the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and Government Communications Head Quarters since his appointment on 1 April 2000 under the Security Service Act 1989 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994. Since 2 October 2000 his role has continued as Intelligence Services Commissioner by virtue of Section 59 (1) of the regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. This is his second report. I am very grateful to him for all his work as Commissioner.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister when the annual report of the Commissioner appointed under section 57 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 will be laid before the House; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: A copy of the report for 2001, by the right hon. Sir. Swinton Thomas, has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 58(6) of the Investigation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The confidential annex to the report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 58(7) of the Act and in accordance with the Commissioner's recommendations. Sir. Swinton was originally appointed Commissioner in April 2000 under the Interception of Communications Act 1985, continuing in the role from 2 October 2000 under Section 57 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. This is his second report. I am very grateful to him for all his work as Commissioner.

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

Departmental Websites

Vincent Cable: To ask the President of the Council if he will list the website links associated with his Department, including sites now dormant or closed, and indicating whether they are live, dormant or closed; what the start up costs were for each site listed; what the operating costs were in each year since start up for each site; which company hosted each site; what assessment takes place for each site; which company does the assessment; if he will place the assessment reports in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Robin Cook: The following links, all of which are live, point to my Department's main website (www.privycouncil.gov.uk).
	www.privy-council.org.uk
	www.privycouncil.com
	www.privycouncil.co.uk
	www.privycouncil.org.uk
	www.privy-council.co.uk
	www.privycounciloffice.co.uk
	www.privycounciloffice.org.uk
	www.privycounciloffice.gov.uk
	www.pco.gov.uk
	The cost of registering all these names was #575.75. The information on start-up costs is currently not available as the site has been in operation only since July 2002.
	The site is hosted by XM London who regularly review feedback from users. The Department intends to review the content and style of the website after it has been in operation for a year.

Focus Groups

Graham Allen: To ask the President of the Council what use he and his Department has made of focus group research since June 2001; if he will identify for each research project the topics covered, the person or organisation carrying out the research, and the total cost; and if he will publish the research on his Department's website.

Robin Cook: My Department has not made use of focus group research since June 2001.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Science and Engineering Education

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on the promotion in the workplace of science and engineering education among 16 year olds.

Alan Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has lead responsibility for education matters, but I and other Ministerial colleagues, notably my noble Friend the Minister for Science and Innovation, are also interested and discuss these matters with our colleagues as and when appropriate.

Science and Engineering Education

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the initiatives her Department has been developing to encourage entrepreneurial education for science and engineering students.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department introduced the Science Enterprise Challenge to establish a network of centres in UK universities, specialising in the teaching and practice of entrepreneurialism and commercialisation in science and technology.
	Thirteen Science Enterprise Centres have been established involving 54 UK universities with #43.9 million of government funding.

Post Office Card Account

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans she has to promote the use of the Post Office card accounts in rural and urban post offices.

Stephen Timms: The post office card account is one of a range of accounts which people will be able from next year to receive benefit payments into. Our aim is that people should be able to choose the option which suits them best. Information about all the options is being supplied to customers by the Department of Work and Pensions and the Inland Revenue.

Post Office Card Account

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to ensure that persons with disabilities can make full use of the post office card account.

Stephen Timms: Benefit and tax credit recipients, including those customers with disabilities, will be offered a range of account options to enable them to receive their money once payment directly into a bank or building society account (including the card account) becomes the normal method of payment from April 2003. The post office card account has no overdraft facilities and is limited to direct payment of benefits, pensions and tax credits by Government agencies only but this limited functionality will attract some individuals because of its simplicity. A second card will also be available for use by a nominee for those customers unable themselves to collect their money at the post office. This facility may be of assistance to some customers who are disabled.

Post Office Card Account

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made as to whether the Post Office card account will pass the Government's proposed CAT standard.

Stephen Timms: The Government have no plans to produce a CAT standard for the Post Office card account. The card account is the only account of its type, quite distinct from current accounts and basic bank accounts. It is a very simple account for benefit, pension and tax credit recipients. Its functionality is limited to the crediting by Government agencies of benefits, pensions and tax credits, and the withdrawal by the customer of those monies at post offices.

Small Businesses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received about business regulation affecting businesses in the North West economic region

Alan Johnson: I meet regularly with business representative bodies such as the CBI, FSB and BCC to discuss issues, including regulations, that affect them.
	The latest OECD report notes that,
	Entrepreneurs face a better business and regulatory environment in the UK than in most other OECD countries. The Small Business Service (SBS) supports small and medium-sized companies and encourages an environment that fosters enterprise;
	The UK is at the forefront of regulatory reform in the OECD, it has already made major improvements and has planned more. Building on what it has already achieved, the UK now faces challenges as well as opportunities to confirm regulatory reform as a key driver of economic performance.
	26.

Small Businesses

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received concerning the impact of fraud on small businesses, and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: An interdepartmental group has been focusing on credit card fraud and my hon. Friend the Minister for Competition, Consumers and Markets looks forward to receiving their findings.

Small Businesses

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to alleviate the burden of regulation on small businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: Since January 2000, we have put in place a number of measures to reduce the burden of regulations on small businesses, including:
	employers with four or fewer employees, exempted from requirement to provide access to stakeholder pensions and deduct pension contributions; increased the statutory audit threshold for companies from #350,000 to #1 million. This will relieve up to 150,000 small firms from the burden of a statutory audit, saving them up to #180 million a year; exempted small shops from the new EU unit pricing requirements; exempted employers with 20 or fewer employees from trade union recognition procedures in the Employment Relations Act. The Small Business Service has also: secured a 12-week period between regulations being agreed and implemented, allowing SMEs time to adapt to new regulations; secured the right to be consulted on all new regulations, so impact on SMEs is not disproportionate. Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) have to be produced for regulations setting out costs and benefits;produced clear guidance on a number of complex regulations; published the Regulatory Reform Action Plan—setting out over 250 proposals for better regulation and reform; regularly brought together groups of SMEs to express their views to officials, e.g. for Patrick Carter's review of payroll administration; set up an independent office to represent the views of small firms to the European institutions.
	The Business Link Website is now attracting 80,000 users per month—businesses can register to receive alerts about regulations automatically.Further to these measures: around 900,000 SMEs benefit from measures announced in Budget 2002, including 485,000 businesses whose corporation tax bill is cut or abolished, and 700,000 are benefiting from flat rate VAT scheme; regulatory challenge function within the DTI strengthened. A new team created to consider how we challenge existing and future legislation and to ensure all policy makers fully consider alternatives to regulation at the outset of the policy-making process. The UK is not over-regulated compared to other countries: A survey jointly published by Anderson and GrowthPlus benchmarks the business environment in nine EU countries, plus the USA. In this report the UK comes out in first place, for providing the most entrepreneur-friendly environment scoring consistently high in all measured categories.
	The Economist Intelligence Unit (E.I.U.) studied the business environment, including regulation, in 60 countries. Results published in the Economist in August 2001, showed the Netherlands, the USA and Britain in the top three places. Recent OECD report into UK regulation concluded the environment is particularly supportive of market openness and competition. The report noted British entrepreneurs face better business and regulatory conditions than in most other OECD economies, it also highlighted support that SBS gives to SMEs and its role in fostering an enterprise culture in the UK.

Post Offices

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of the rural post office network.

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of the rural post office network.

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will announce her proposals for financial support of the rural post offices network; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government are committed to the maintenance of a nationwide network, and placed a formal requirement on the Post Office in November 2000 to prevent all avoidable closures of rural post offices. We have received advice from Postcomm on the proposals for supporting the rural network from 2003, and details of substantial financial support will be announced shortly.

Post Offices

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of the rural post office network.
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 29 October 2002
	We have received advice from the Postal Services Commission on proposals for supporting the rural network from 2003 and details of substantial financial support will be announced shortly.
	The Government has already invested in modernisation comprising some #480 million to computerise the whole post office network. We have made available a #2 million fund to support volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or reopen post office facilities in rural areas where traditional services would otherwise close. Figures for end September 2002 showed that 168 applications–to a value of #825,000–had been assessed and approved and to that date payments of #529,000 had also been made.
	The Government is committed to the maintenance of a nationwide network of post offices and placed a formal requirement on the Post Office in November 2000 to prevent any avoidable closures of rural post offices.

Post Offices

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has on the post office network.

Stephen Timms: The Department receives representations about the post office network from numerous sources reflecting the valuable role post offices play in their communities. The Government are committed to ensuring that the post office network has a thriving future.

Post Offices

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Post Office is to be bound by the Urban Counter Cover Obligation; how this obligation will be assessed, and by whom; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: A condition of the offer of funding for Post Office Limited's (POL) urban reinvention programme is that upon completion of the programme, there is a post office branch within a mile of not less than 95 per cent. in aggregate of the urban population of the UK.
	If POL fails to comply with this obligation, the Government may vary or withhold funding of the programme. POL's implementation of the programme will be monitored by the DTI.

Manufacturing Industry

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the results of her policies for the promotion of the manufacturing industry. 76433
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Alan Johnson: We published our manufacturing strategy on 16 May, building on the TUC/CBI work on productivity and the consensus achieved at the manufacturing summit we hosted last December. In partnership with industry and key stakeholders, we have established and identified seven key areas crucial for manufacturing success and driving up productivity. We are taking action in all of these areas to help UK manufacturers fulfil their potential and move up the value chain to high skill, high value operations by promoting investment, skills, innovation and best practice

Manufacturing Industry

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to encourage a rise in productivity of the manufacturing industry.

Alan Johnson: The Government's manufacturing strategy was published in May. We have established in partnership with industry and key stakeholders and identified seven key areas crucial for manufacturing success and driving up productivity. We are taking action in all of these areas to help UK manufacturers fulfil their potential and move up the value chain to high skill, high value operations by promoting investment, skills, innovation and best practice.

Manufacturing Industry

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made with implementation of the Government's strategy for manufacturing industry.

Alan Johnson: The Manufacturing Strategy we published on 16 May identified seven key areas of activity for manufacturing success. We have made significant progress in all of these areas to help manufacturers fulfil their potential in the UK. For example, we have:provided additional resources for regional development agencies to help them to engage local industry with innovation, develop key business clusters and sectors, and stimulate workforce development among local employers; opened seven regional centres for manufacturing excellence;increased investment in science and innovation; and boosted promotion of best practice with the expansion of the Partnership Fund and Industry Forum.

Stop Now Orders

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the operation of Stop Now Orders.

Melanie Johnson: No formal assessment has been made of the operation of the Stop Now Orders Regulations. The Office of Fair Trading in their co-ordination role, monitor the operation of the regulations.
	There have been 148 cases thus far with five Stop Now Orders obtained from the courts. The majority of cases have been resolved through negotiation with the trader without having to take court action.
	Following discussions with Trading Standards Departments we have made available #2.5 million/year through local authority general allocations to fund Trading Standards' new responsibilities in this area. We have also provided funding as part of the Modernisation Fund for projects that support the implementation and use of the regulations locally and supported training events for Trading Standards.

Energy Supply Market

Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the situation in the energy supply market.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Selby (Mr. Grogan).

Fireworks

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what additional restrictions are proposed this year on the sale of fireworks.

Melanie Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 17 October 2002, Official Report, columns 889–90W, announcing a package of measures to address problems caused by fireworks.

Fireworks

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the progress of her review of the legislation governing the sale of fireworks.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 21October 2002
	I would refer my hon Friend to an answer I gave on the 17 October, Official Report, column 889W announcing a package of measures to address problems caused by fireworks.

Fireworks

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to restrict the sale and use of fireworks to (a) certain days of the year and (b) certain times of the day; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Consumer Protection Act 1987 allows the Government to regulate the safety of fireworks supplied to the public, but not the periods when they are sold. This would require primary legislation. We have recently written to major retailers of fireworks and representative bodies to urge them to adhere to the voluntary sales agreement. This restricts the sales of fireworks to three weeks before November 5 and a few days after and for a similar period around new year. We have received a positive response.
	As to usage, I would refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2002, Official Report, columns 889–90W announcing a package of measures to address problems caused by fireworks. DEFRA are seeking to make it easier for local
	authorities to use the Night Noise Offence within the Noise Act 1996 which targets excessive noise from domestic premises after 11pm and before 7pm.

Fireworks

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received on restricting the use of fireworks; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: We have received widespread representations from members of the public and hon. Members calling for restrictions on the use of fireworks.

Fireworks

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to improve quality and safety controls on fireworks; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: I would refer my hon. Friend to an answer I gave on the 17 October 2002, Official Report, column 889W announcing a package of measures to address problems caused by fireworks.

Fireworks

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to restrict the sale of fireworks outside the traditional sales period prior to Bonfire Night; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Consumer Protection Act 1987 allows the Government to regulate the safety of fireworks supplied to the public, but not the period when they are sold. This would require primary legislation. But we have entered into a voluntary agreement with the industry and retail trade whereby fireworks are sold to the public for three weeks before 5 November and for a few days after and for a similar period around New Year.

Fireworks

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Government policy on fireworks.

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps she is taking to improve firework safety.

Melanie Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Crausby).

Fireworks

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made on (a) the consultation on measures to tackle the misuse of fireworks announced by the Consumer Minister on 1 March and (b) the proposal to enable local authorities to refuse or revoke a licence of a retailer where the licensee is not considered to be a fit person for the sale of fireworks.

Melanie Johnson: I would refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 17 October 2002, Official Report, columns 889–90W, announcing a package of measures to address problems caused by fireworks.
	As part of the package of measures, breaches of the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997, could be taken into account in deciding whether a person was fit to hold a licence. Under the proposed manufacture and storage of explosives regulations the power to withhold or revoke a licence applies only to breaches of health and safety legislation.

Renewable Energy

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will discuss with interested parties the possibility of introducing a renewables target for 2020 of 30 per cent.

Brian Wilson: I share my hon. Friend's desire to see a very substantial increase in renewable energy generation to help us mitigate the impacts of climate change and to create a more diversified energy market. The aim when setting any target must be to ensure that it is realistic and achievable. Our current target for renewables is that, by 2010, 10 per cent. of electricity sales within Great Britain should come from sources eligible for the recently introduced Renewables Obligation. This will represent a substantial but attainable expansion over the course of the decade.
	The Performance and Innovation Unit's report on energy policy which was published last February recommended that the target for the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources should be increased to 20 per cent. by 2020. In the light of the report the Government are carrying out a review of future energy policy with a view to issuing a White Paper in the new year. The review has included extensive consultation and is including consideration of the possibility of introducing an increased renewables target for 2020.

Renewable Energy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the discussions between regional development agencies and her Department on the creation of a commercial market for renewable energy and their relative responsibilities.

Alan Johnson: I recognise the important contribution that regional administrations can make in delivering the Government's demanding targets on renewable energy. Regular discussions are held between the DTI and regional development agencies. These discussions involve Renewables UK, the specialist business unit set up earlier this year to help UK industry to maximise their involvement in renewable energy projects. There has been significant co-operation to date, including the establishment of a fund of #2.5 million allocated to the regional Government Office network to support a range of different activities designed to support the planning and promotion of renewables energy projects and developing targets in regions throughout Britain.
	Furthermore, the Government is currently carrying out a review of future energy policy with a view to issuing a White Paper in the New Year. The role of renewables, including the role of regional agencies, will be included in the White Paper.

Textiles Industry

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement about the future of the UK textiles industry.

Alan Johnson: The UK textiles and clothing industry faces a number of tough challenges to its competitive future. Globalisation has placed increasing pressure on it continually to raise its game to remain competitive and UK manufacturers need to adapt and modernise if they are to respond positively to the pace of change.
	The DTI is committed to building a sustainable future for the industry and strongly supports the industry's own Textiles and Clothing Strategy Group which aims to increase its competitiveness through the development of innovative products, more efficient production methods and by diversifying into new markets.

Business Start-ups

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the trends in inward investment to the UK since 1997 with special reference to start-up companies and businesses which have since gone bankrupt.

Alan Johnson: For the financial years 1997–98 to 2000–01, Invest-UK recorded a steady increase year on year of inward investment decisions to invest in the UK from 631 in 1997–98 to 881 in 2000–01. This increase also applied to the number of new projects by either existing foreign owned companies already operating in the UK or by companies locating here for the first time from 192 in 1997–98 to 500 in 2000–01.
	There is no requirement on companies to notify Invest-UK of decisions to invest in the UK and so the figures are based only on information volunteered by companies. There are no statistics available which show the number of inward investors which have gone bankrupt.
	In 2001–02 there was a drop in project numbers to 827, of which 350 were new projects. This was consistent with the fall in investment levels across the world due to the global economic downturn which critically affected many sectors worldwide. International business confidence was also severely depressed in the aftermath of the 11 September tragedy.
	However, figures for 2001 published in September by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) confirm the UK's premier position in Europe. The UK had $496,776 million stock of inward investment, this figure is second only to the US. My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Invest-UK in British Trade International and the development agencies will continue to work hard to ensure that the UK remains the No. 1 location in Europe for inward investment.

Urban Post Offices

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the urban post office network.

Stephen Timms: Post Office Limited (POL) has just embarked on a programme to restructure the urban post office network. The objective of the programme is to provide modernised and improved facilities which meet customers' needs and expectations and are in the right location for the local community. The programme, supported by the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, will be taken forward by POL in consultation with individual sub-postmasters, the community, local stakeholders and Postwatch. Parliamentary and European state aids approvals have been received.

Urban Post Offices

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary' of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has held with representatives of older people's groups about the proximity of urban sub-post offices to their customers.

Stephen Timms: Plans of Post Office Limited (POL) to restructure the urban post office network will take careful account of customer needs, including those of older people. POL's restructuring programme will involve extensive consultation with local stakeholders and the community in every case. Public consultation will be carried out under the Code of Practice procedures which have been agreed between POL and Postwatch, the consumer body.
	Postwatch will be consulted on individual propositions for change. In addition, on a regular basis, Postwatch meet and consult a range of organisations including those representing older people.

Urban Post Offices

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the impact the closure of urban post offices will have on the town of Chelmsford, including Broomfield and Great Baddow; and how many post offices in this area are expected to close.

Stephen Timms: The programme to restructure the urban post office network has only just started and is being taken forward in consultation with individual sub-postmasters, the community, Members of Parliament, other local stakeholders and Postwatch in accordance with the Code of Practice. There is no pre-determined closure list. Under the Code, Post Office Ltd. is required to consult Postwatch and other interested parties on its specific proposals for changes.
	The objective of the urban network restructuring programme is to ensure that ad hoc closures which would leave gaps in the network are prevented. It is envisaged that the restructured urban network will provide modernised and improved facilities which meet customers' needs and expectations and are in the right location for the local community.

Aerospace Industry

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Government are taking to support the expansion of the aerospace industry.

Alan Johnson: The Government have been and continue to be supportive of the aerospace industry in the UK. Since 1987 we have committed nearly #1 billion in launch investment for major new large aircraft and engine projects and provided some #20 million per year for civil aerospace research and demonstration. As large investors in R&D, aerospace companies will also benefit from the tax credit scheme for larger firms announced in the last Budget.
	We are conscious of the strong competition faced by the industry, however, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 16 May this year the establishment of the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team, led by Sir Richard Evans. This will enable the key stakeholders to work together to produce a shared vision and strategy for the future success of the industry. Sir Richard and his team are currently about half way through their work and a great deal of effort, from industry, Government and other organisations, is being put into the process. I expect the IGT to report by next spring, with recommendations and an agreed action plan to take the industry forward.

Aerospace Industry

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of total turnover exports accounted for in the United Kingdom aerospace industry in the financial years (a) 1998–99; (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2000–01; and if she will make statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The percentage of total turnover accounted for by exports in the UK aerospace industry is shown in the table. Data are sourced from the Society of British Aerospace Companies, but unfortunately, are not available on a financial year basis. Therefore, calendar year figures are supplied:
	
		
			  Export percentage 
		
		
			 1999 60 
			 2000 60 
			 2001 63

Sellafield

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on United Kingdom policy in respect of the court case brought by the Irish Republic at the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague on the non-disclosure of documents relating to the operation of the Sellafield MOX plant.

Brian Wilson: The Government of Ireland requested from the United Kingdom Government full versions of two reports about the economic justification of the Sellafield MOX plant prepared by the independent consultants PA Consulting and AD Little. Both reports contain items of commercially confidential information and these were redacted from the versions published by Ministers in 1999 and 2001 as part of the public consultation process. The Government is entitled to protect that information from public disclosure on the grounds that its release would cause unreasonable damage to BNFL's commercial operations and the prospects for its MOX business in particular. Accordingly, the Government has declined Ireland's request.
	In accordance with Article 32(1) of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (the 'OSPAR Convention') Ireland requested that an Arbitral Tribunal be established, claiming that the United Kingdom Government was in breach of its obligations under that Convention by declining to provide Ireland with the information requested. Following the appointment of arbitrators and the constitution of the Tribunal, both sides submitted written pleadings prior to an oral hearing held at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague between 21–25 October 2002. The Tribunal will deliver its Award in due course. The written submissions and the transcripts of the oral hearing can be found on the PCA website at www.pca-cpa.org.

Sellafield

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which facilities at Sellafield are licensed for the re-dissolution of unirradiated Mox fuel.

Brian Wilson: The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear site licences are granted in respect of sites rather then individual facilities. Under conditions attached to such site licences, HSE requires that for every operation on site that may affect safety, the licensee shall prepare a safety case to demonstrate that any proposed activity will be safe.
	Sellafield currently does not have a safety case for a production facility to re-dissolve unirradiated MoX fuel. However, BNFL is considering various options for reusing the fissile material, including fuel dissolution and fuel pellet crushing into a powder; re-dissolution may involve modifications to existing plant. I understand that in due course BNFL will be submitting proposals to HSE, including any necessary safety case, to gain permission for the proposed activity.

Sellafield

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representation she has received concerning the decommissioning of Sellafield in the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: Many representations have been received from hon. Members, their constituents, non-government organisations and foreign states regarding decommissioning of Sellafield in the last ten years.
	The question of how to manage the whole of the UK's civil nuclear liabilities more effectively—which includes decommissioning at Sellafield—is the subject of the Government's recent White Paper XManaging the Nuclear Legacy—A Strategy For Action". The White Paper proposes fundamental changes to current management arrangements including the establishment of a new strategic body, the Liabilities Management Authority (LMA). The LMA's task will be to ensure that the nuclear legacy is cleaned up safely, securely, cost effectively, and in ways which protect the environment for current and future generations. The Government intends to ensure that the work of the LMA is carried out in a transparent manner.

Agriculture

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many letters she received between 1 August and 15 October advocating the inclusion of the Development Box in the Government's negotiations on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: Between 1 August and 15 October 2002, my Department has received 270 letters advocating the inclusion of the Development Box in the Government's negotiations on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.

Airships

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what work her Department has conducted to evaluate the use of airships as mobile telecommunication platforms.

Stephen Timms: The Government do not distinguish between different platforms for delivery of competitive mobile telecommunications services. British companies involved in the development of airship technology that could potentially be used for a wide range of applications, including fixed and mobile telecommunications, have received some support.

Biotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to ensure that stringent criteria for patenting biotechnology inventions are applied at the European patent office.

Melanie Johnson: The criteria for patenting in this field are laid down in EU Directive 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. The UK was successful in achieving incorporation of these criteria into the implementing regulations of the European Patent Convention, which governs the work of the European Patent Office (EPO), at the end of 2000.

Biotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role her Department is playing in international collaboration aimed at harmonising practice on the patenting of biotechnology inventions.

Melanie Johnson: The G7 countries have agreed to work together on the issues surrounding the patentability of biotechnological inventions. UK guidelines summarising the Patent Office's current practice based on the existing law and legal precedents from the UKcourts and the European Patent Office (EPO) will be provided to the G7 as a basis for further discussion. Staff in the UK Patent Office have also established and maintained regular contacts with their opposite numbers in the EPO to exchange information about practice in this field. Similar contacts exist with the Swedish, Austrian, Japanese, Chinese and Australian Patent Offices. The Patent Office takes due account of decisions which emerge from the EPO in making its own decisions.

Biotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidelines she has issued on the benchmarks used for assessing the patentability of biotechnology inventions; and what implications these guidelines have for future patenting of DNA sequences identified by data-mining techniques.

Melanie Johnson: The Patent Office published the examination guidelines used by patent examiners for assessing the patentability of biotechnological inventions in October. The guidelines are a summary of the Office's current practice based on the existing law and legal precedents from the UK courts and the European Patent Office. They are available from the Patent Office website at http://www.patent.gov.uk
	Inventions arising from data-mining have to satisfy the usual patentability requirements, including inventive steps. The guidelines state that the 'use of mining to identify a polynucleotide or a polypeptide homologous to a polynucleotide or polypeptide, having a known function or activity, will not normally involve and inventive step'.

British Energy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from firms involved in the generation and sale of electricity in the United Kingdom, in response to the funding package put in place to support British Energy; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department has received representations from a number of companies in relation to the Government's financial assistance to British Energy.

British Energy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on other electricity generators of the rescue package for British Energy; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government's overriding objectives in providing financial assistance to British Energy are to ensure nuclear safety and security of supply while protecting the interests of taxpayers. My Department is currently considering with the company options for its future. Any assistance to restore viability will have to comply with EU rules, including avoiding undue distortion of competition

British Energy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to ensure that the British Energy Trading arrangements work effectively in Scotland; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The creation of a wholesale electricity market for GB, as set out in the BETTA (British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements) proposals will mean that the current barriers that independent Scottish generators, along with British Energy, face in selling to the England and Wales market will be removed.
	The Nuclear Energy Agreement (NEA), which was put in place at the time of privatisation, ensures that British Energy has buyers for its generation output. The terms of the NEA have recently been renegotiated and are subject to final approval by Ofgem, who have indicated that they are 'minded to ' approve the new terms. Under the new terms the NEA will cease to exist on the 1 April 2006 or on the advent of BETTA, whichever is the sooner.
	Government announced in April 2002 that it intended to bring forward legislation to implement BETTA when parliamentary time allowed. Detailed consultations on the new arrangements to create a GB market are already underway and will be ongoing over the coming months.

Broadband Technology (Aberdeenshire)

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government is taking to promote broadband technology in Aberdeenshire.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 28 October 2002
	The Scottish Executive is implementing its broadband strategy "Connecting Scotland: Our broadband future" and will shortly be publishing an update to that strategy outlining progress to date.
	One strand of the strategy is to identify the need for direct support measures and this has been taken forward through the #4.4 million Scottish programme of projects under the UK Broadband Fund. There are measures to stimulate awareness and demand for broadband via a broadband information website and a network of local demonstration centres for SMEs. On the supply side, there are technology trials in rural areas, such as Powerline Carrier and Wireless pilots, which aim to determine the potential of these technologies for delivering broadband in rural communities.
	In addition, the DTI is establishing a network of broadband experts to be located in each of the English regions and the devolved Administrations, to spread best practice in the promotion and take-up of broadband technology.
	All of these measures will help stimulate the rollout and take-up of broadband technologies throughout Scotland, including in Aberdeenshire.

Cable Networks

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress in completing the non-BT cable network, as set out in the terms of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

Stephen Timms: Cable networks currently pass approximately 50 per cent. of UK households. Decisions on whether to extend coverage further are a commercial matter for the cable company concerned, as network expansion is no longer dictated by the build milestones in a cable operator's Telecommunications Act licence. Cable franchises, when originally granted, contained a balance of exclusivity and build milestones. Since 1998, the exclusivity of the franchises has been progressively removed to enable greater competition in the provision of communications services. This process was completed on 1 January 2001. In recognition of this, cable operators' licences are no longer subject to build milestones.

Combined Heat and Power

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further action she plans to take to ensure the target of 10GWe of CHP by 2010 is achieved; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: The draft CHP strategy reiterated the Government's commitment to a target of at least lOGWe of Good Quality CHP capacity by 2010. Responses to the consultation on the CHP strategy will feed into consideration of the Energy White Paper. A summary of the responses to the consultation will be placed on the DEFRA website shortly.

Commercial Kiosk Service

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding the Government will provide for the Commercial Kiosk Service; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The commercial kiosk pilot due to start early next spring will be a commercially funded undertaking. It will not receive financial support from Government. However Government expects to participate by making UK online interactive available on the kiosks.

Communication and Information Industries

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of UK GDP the communication and information industries represent; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The communication and information industries represented about 9 per cent. of total UK Gross Value Added at basic prices in 2000. The estimate has been derived from the ONS Input-Output Analyses and the ONS Annual Business Inquiry.

Community Development Venture Capital Fund

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which private companies are involved in administration of the Community Development Venture Capital Fund in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland.

Nigel Griffiths: Bridges Community Ventures Ltd. administers the Community Development Venture Fund.

Credit Licences

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will list the occasions on which credit licences issued by the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 were (a) approved, (b) revoked and (c) refused within Scotland, broken down by area;
	(2)  how many credit licences were (a) revoked and (b) refused in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 23 October 2002
	Information on refusals and revocations of consumer credit licences is available only at national level. The figures for the UK for the last five years are:
	
		
			  Licences revoked Licence applications refused 
		
		
			 1997 34 18 
			 1998 15 18 
			 1999 25 27 
			 2000 31 35 
			 2001 21 26 
			 2002 to date 14 25 
		
	
	The number of licences issued to applicants based in Scotland since 18 October 1997 is:
	
		
			  Licences issued 
		
		
			 1997 272 
			 1998 1,569 
			 1999 1,312 
			 2000 1,067 
			 2001 1,015 
			 2002 to 30 September 754 
		
	
	Figures for licences issued are not kept on the basis of regions within Scotland. The total number of licences issued in the last five years by postcode area is:
	
		
			 Post code Number 
		
		
			 AB 587 
			 DD 310 
			 DG 144 
			 EH 966 
			 FK 279 
			 G 1,522 
			 HS 19 
			 IV 232 
			 KA 411 
			 KW 47 
			 KY 384 
			 ML 410 
			 PA 331 
			 PH 221 
			 TD 111 
			 ZE 15

Energy Supply

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Ofgem about guaranteeing long-term security of energy supply; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department is in regular contact with Ofgem to discuss energy security issues. The Joint Energy Security of Supply working group (JESS), chaired jointly by DTI and Ofgem, is the main forum for jointly monitoring security of supply issues over a medium-term timescale of up to seven years. The first JESS report, containing security indicators, was issued in June 2002 and a copy was placed in the House of Commons Library. Long-term energy security to 2020 and beyond is a key subject for the forthcoming Energy White Paper, due to be published in the new year. Ofgem are involved in the inter-departmental steering group, which is developing the White Paper.

EU Copyright Directive

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the likely effects of the EU Copyright Directive in terms of (a) the ownership of intellectual property and (b) access to information.

Melanie Johnson: The EU Copyright Directive does not require us to make any changes that will affect the ownership of intellectual property. Moreover, copyright does not protect information as such. Where information is contained in a copyright protected work, then implementation of the Directive in the UK will not make any change of substance to the copyright owner's existing right to control if and how that work is made available to the public by any means.

EU Copyright Directive

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received regarding the implementation of the EU Copyright Directive (2001/298/EC) (2); and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The consultation on implementation of the EU Copyright Directive has a closing date of 31 October. We will be considering all responses very carefully as we take forward work on implementation.

Export Control Organisation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) target and (b) actual time to complete licence assessments by the Export Control Organisation is for (i) applications where other Government Departments are consulted and (ii) applications not circulated to other Government Departments; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: I refer the hon. Member to the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) on 6 March 2002, Official Report, column 399W. In almost all cases it is necessary for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) application to be circulated to other Government Departments for advice.

Export Credit Guarantees (Gulf States)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual value is of export credit guarantees issued to (a) Qatar, (b) Bahrain, (c) the United Arab Emirates, and (d) Oman since 1995; how many guarantees were issued in each year; what percentage of guarantee value each year was in each export sector; and if she will list each project of more than #10 million supported by those guarantees.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 28 October 2002
	The following table lists the ECGD maximum liability for all guarantees issued since 1995 for the specified markets. It also lists the number of such guarantees, the percentage of maximum liability under the civil, civil aerospace and defence sectors and a broad description of the projects for guarantees issued over #10 million.
	
		
			 Year/market Value of guarantees issued (ECGD maximum liability) #million Number of issues Per cent. value civil Per cent. value civil aerospace Per cent. value defence Project description for guarantees over #10 million issued 
		
		
			 1995   
			 Bahrain 64,194,556 5 0 100 0 Civil airliners 
			 Oman 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Qatar 1,949,647 2 0 0 100  
			 UAE 594,000 1 100 0 0  
			  
			 1996   
			 Bahrain 20,131,362 2 92.9 0 7.1 Civil airliners 
			 Oman 40,315,965 2 100 0 0 Electricity transmission equipment 
			 Qatar 228,625,795 5 97.6 0 2.4 LNG project 
			 UAE 89,460,804 2 8.9 91.1 0 Civil airliners 
			  
			 1997   
			 Bahrain 1,282,500 1 100 0 0  
			 Oman 373,805,127 3 99.76 0 0.24 Power plant 
			 Qatar 186,240,145 6 0 0 100 Armoured personnel carriers 
			 UAE 86,529,415 3 0 88.7 11.3 Civil airliners 
			  
			 1998   
			 Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Oman 21,136,834 1 0 0 100 Tanks 
			 Qatar 0 0 0 0 0  
			 UAE 99,696,601 6 7.7 92.3 0 Civil airliners 
			  
			 1999   
			 Bahrain 117,104,123 6 0 100 0 Civil airliners 
			 Oman 220,745,142 4 4.6 0 95.4 Tanks, military radar, aircraft avionics, power plant 
			 Qatar 0 0 0 0 0  
			 UAE 194,134,273 7 0 100 0 Civil airliners 
			  
			 2000   
			 Bahrain 54,768,466 3 0.4 99.6 0 Civil airliners 
			 Oman 120,564,393 4 100 0 0 Power plant, LNG project 
			 Qatar 0 0 0 0 0  
			 UAE 145,760,930 5 0 100 0 Civil airliners 
			  
			 2001   
			 Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Oman 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Qatar 17,479,948 2 0 100 0  
			 UAE 54,099,675 3 50.4 49.6 0 Civil airliners, electricity transmission equipment 
			 2002   
			 Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Oman 57,001,885 1 0 0 100 Spares for armoured personnel carriers 
			 Qatar 37,945,292 3 0 100 0 Civil airliners 
			 UAE 0 0 0 0 0

Export Publications Catalogue

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many titles are featured in the Export Publications Catalogue; what the website address is for the catalogue; what the running costs were for financial years (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000 and (d) 2000–01; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Export Publications Catalogue is no longer published. Since May 2000, business sector and export market information content previously published as priced books listed in the Catalogue has been made freely available on www.tradepartners.gov.uk
	The specific running costs for the Export Publications Catalogue were not separately recorded. However, based on the staff and accommodation costs the totaladministration running costs for maintaining the Catalogue are estimated as:
	
		
			  # 
		
		
			 1997–98 37,983.00 
			 1998–99 37,860.00 
			 1999–2000 38,713.00 
		
	
	The Unit was wound-up at the end of the Financial Year 1999–2000 and staff were redeployed on preparing information for the new Trade Partners UK website.

Financial Assistance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much financial assistance has been given in each of the last five years to (a) the British Printing Industries Federation, (b) the Booksellers Association, (c) London Fashion Week, (d) the Designer Fact File and (e) the Education Pack for Schools in the Clothing and Textile industries; what assistance is planned for the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: DTI does not provide direct financial assistance to the British Printing Industries Federation or the Booksellers Association but has worked with these organisations in partnership with other industry members to support initiatives aimed at raising their sectors' competitiveness and productivity.
	My Department has contributed support towards the above initiatives as follows:
	London Fashion Week:
	1997–2000—#120,000 per annum
	2001—#170,000
	2002—#214,000
	Designer Fact File:
	1997—#22,000
	Education Packs for Clothing and Textiles:
	April 2001 to April 2003—#161,500
	This support relates to specific industry-led initiatives aiming at supporting the UK textiles and clothing sector. The focus for this assistance is the priorities identified by the industry itself, contained in the Textiles and Clothing Strategy Group's report: 'A National Strategy for the UK Textiles and Clothing Industry', published in June 2000. DTI will continue to work with the TCSG to support this industry but the level of future support depends on it coming forward with appropriate initiatives to help raise its competitiveness and viability.

Firefighters' Strike

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what preparations she has made to ensure the safety and continuity of service to the public in the event of a firefighters' strike; and what the cost is to the Department of these actions.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department is already following the fire safety guidance recently published on the the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. My Department is taking the opportunity to remind its staff and contractors of good fire safety practices and what to do in an emergency. My Department does not expect to incur any increase in costs.

Focus Group Research

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what use she and her Department have made of focus group research since June 2001; if she will identify for each research project the topics covered, the person or organisation carrying out the research, and the total cost; and if she will publish the research on her Department's website.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department does not collect centrally the information sought, and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Foresight Vehicle LINK Programme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was invested by the Government, broken down by financial years, in the Foresight Vehicle LINK programme; whether the programme is still live; what assessment of the programme has taken place and at what cost; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Foresight Vehicle LINK programme is still open. Foresight Vehicle has just published a technology road map identifying critical technology and research themes and this, taken together with the recommendations of the Automotive Innovation andGrowth Team, will be used as the basis for future calls for proposals. Sponsor departments will be meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the timing of the next call. It is too early for a full formal evaluation of the research to date, but on completion, individual projects are assessed against their objectives by the Programme Management Panel. In addition, themed dissemination events are held regularly and papers have been presented at international conferences. Details of the research portfolio and progress are also made available on the Foresight Vehicle website www.foresightvehicle.org.uk
	Government commitment is as follows (these figures include the EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing Initiative Road Transport Programme which has been subsumed into Foresight Vehicle):
	
		
			 Financial Years (#k) DfT DTI Highways Agency MoD EPSRC Total 
		
		
			 Earlier years — 1,060 — — 3,131 4,191 
			 1997–98 — 646 — 62 3,810 4,518 
			 1998–99 — 1,544 — — 4,087 5,631 
			 1999–2000 55 1,005 — — 3,903 4,963 
			 2001–01 388 600 951 — 4,168 6,107 
			 2001–02 622 1,463 63 — 1,277 3,425 
			 2002–03 992 982 400 — 1,161 3,535 
			 Total 2,057 7,300 1,414 62 21,537 32,370

Gas Suppliers

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what measures are being taken to ensure that gas suppliers are complying with Ofgem and Energywatch's Erroneous Transfer Customer Charter; and what enforcement powers are given to Ofgem to impose the Charter's provisions on fraudulent and negligent firms;
	(2)  what measures are being taken to ensure that gas suppliers are complying with Ofgem and Energywatch's Erroneous Transfer Customer Charter; and what enforcement powers are given to Ofgem to impose the Charter's provisions on fraudulent and negligent firms who do not correct an erroneous transfer within the designated time period as stipulated by the Charter.

Brian Wilson: This is a matter for the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). I understand that the Chief Executive of Ofgem will write to the hon. Member on the issues he has raised.

Industry Forum

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) financial and (b) other support was provided to the Industry Forum in (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–2000 and (iii) 2000–01; what budget there is for 2001–02; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Industry Forum Adaptation initiative was supported by a budget of #15 million between 1998 and 2001. Due to the high demand and its growing impact on productivity across a range of sectors, a further budget of #9 million was announced at the Manufacturing Summit in December 2001. This covers FY 2002–03 and 2003–04 and strengthens the overall level of support for best practice activities. An additional #9 million was also announced to include joint activity with the Partnership Fund to integrate people and process development.
	In addition, the Industry Forum Network was established in December 2000 through the Fit for the Future National Best Practice Campaign, which my Department co-funds. The network is made up of CEOs of each industry forum and facilitates cross-working and the exchange of operational experiences.

Iran

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to encourage the development of the Iranian oil and gas industry; and what steps she is taking to encourge UK firms to invest in Iran.

Brian Wilson: Her Majesty's Government has supported UK companies investing in the development of the Iranian oil and gas industry and will continue to do so.
	Trade Partners UK, including the commercial team at the Embassy in Tehran, offers a strong package of support for British companies wishing to do business with Iran. In addition to providing up to date information on market conditions, they support a programme of trade missions to the market, help British groups attend key trade fairs, organise inward missions and provide targeted assistance to UK companies in key sectors.

Iraq (Exports)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what British exports of material and technology capable of being used in biological weapons production were made to Iraq since 1972; and how many export licences were (a) granted and (b) rejected in respect of such material and technology over this period.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation records details of all relevant export licences granted and rejected. Since 2 May 1997 these are published in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls. Copies of the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 annual reports are available in the Libraries of the House.
	Previous administrations have not considered it appropriate to publish information on individual licensing decisions. Information on export licences granted and rejected since 1972, where the end users were in Iraq, is not held centrally and a manual search of all the case files would incur disproportionate costs.
	The Government are well aware of the special risks that exist in relation to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and for this reason gives extremely careful scrutiny to applications that involve potential WMD concerns. A very wide range of items with otherwise entirely legitimate applications can have a potential use in connection with WMD. The Government will not issue an export licence where there is an unacceptable risk of diversion to a WMD programme of concern.

Israel

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's policy is regarding the export of arms to Israel.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	All relevant export licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case by case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, taking account of the circumstances prevailing at the time and other announced Government policies. Our criteria clearly set out our commitment to take account of the risk that exports might be used for internal repression or external aggression. The outbreak of the intifada, continued Israeli incursions in the Occupied Territories and the Israeli breach of its assurance that UK originated equipment would not be used in the Occupied Territories have all been factored in to the Government's current export licensing policy. The UK arms trade with Israel is tiny.

Job Losses

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her Department's policy to collect statistics on the number of jobs lost from the UK to other countries.

Patricia Hewitt: There are significant practical and conceptual difficulties in measuring the process of job creation and job destruction and attributing cause and effect. At this stage, we have no plans to collect figures in this area. However, my Department will continue to monitor where possible, the location and relocation decisions of UK and foreign companies as part of our ongoing programme of work on productivity and competitiveness.

Liabilities Management Authority

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether (a) restrictions and (b) exclusions will apply to the nationality of the licensees contracted by the Liabilities Management Authority to manage (i) individual and (ii) multiple sites.

Patricia Hewitt: UK and overseas companies will be able to bid for contracts, reflecting the Government's determination to draw on the best available skills in managing and disposing of nuclear waste. However, contracts will only be awarded to companies satisfying regulatory and security requirements relevant to the site or sites concerned.

NPower

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints she has received about the operation of npower.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 29 October 2002
	I have received a number of representations about npower and other gas and electricity suppliers. Statutory responsibility for investigating complaints from consumers who have been unable to obtain a satisfactory response from their supplier lies with the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council (Energywatch). Energywatch publishes complaints statistics on website at www.energywatch@org.uk The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) monitors the sales activities of energy suppliers, and may take investigative and enforcement action against any supplier that breaches the terms of its supply licence.

Parcelforce

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received from businesses and individuals about the services operated by Parcelforce; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Services operated by Parcelforce are an operational matter for the company. Recent representations I have received on behalf of businesses concerning these matters have therefore been passed on to Consignia plc for attention. I answered an adjournment debate yesterday on a representation raised with me by the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty).

Redundant Building Grant Scheme

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been (a) applied for and (b) spent through the Redundant Building Grant Scheme in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03 to date, broken down by county.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	Following the introduction of the Regional Development Agencies' single budget arrangements last April they are no longer obliged to operate former Rural Development Programme schemes such as the Redundant Building Grant. The Department has not collected this information since 2000–01, when expenditure was estimated at approximately #2.8m. Figures for individual counties have never been collected centrally.

RICD Fund

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been (a) applied for and (b) spent through the Regional Innovation and Competitiveness Development fund by rural local authorities in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2002–03 to date.

Alan Johnson: In 2000–01 the Competitiveness Development Fund (CDF) provided a funding stream from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to the nine English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to spend on priorities they identified for increasing competitiveness in their regions. The RDAs were allocated CDF of #9.7 million in 2000–01.
	In 2001–02, the CDF was subsumed within the department's Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), which ran for one financial year before itself being subsumed within the 'Single Pot' financial arrangements applying to RDAs from 2002–03. The RIF similarly provided a funding stream to the RDAs, which was designed to enable them to support regional competitiveness, innovation and enterprise, and to support cluster development and business incubation in their regions. #54.1 million of RIF funding was allocated by DTI to the RDAs for this purpose.
	The RDAs' use of Government funding is described in their audited annual reports and accounts. These are laid before Parliament each year before the summer recess

Sensors Technology

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much financial assistance has been given to the sensors technology, through the LINK sensors for industrial applications programme in each of the last five years; what support is planned in the next two years; when the programme is next due to report; what assessment has taken place of the effectiveness of the programme; whether the programme has a website; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: Financial support under the LINK Sensors and Sensor Systems for Industrial Applications Programme for the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			 Year Spend #k 
		
		
			 1997–98 244 
			 1998–99 727 
			 1999–2000 1,187 
			 2000–01 1,343 
			 2001–02 1,237 
		
	
	Predicted spend for 2002–03 and 2003–04 is #1,300k and #1,000k respectively. Further support for sensors technology will be available under the new LINK Basic Technologies for Industrial Applications Programme, which was announced by my noble Friend, the Minister for Science and Innovation on 26 July 2002.
	The next progress report to the LINK Directorate on the Programme is due in October 2003. Progress on the programme and individual projects is monitored continuously, but it is too early to carry out a full evaluation of the effectiveness of the programme as only a few projects have been completed and are now moving towards commercial exploitation. However, the research has already given rise to 80 refereed scientific papers and 12 patent applications. Two seminars have been held at which progress on projects has been reported. The programme website address is: www.dti.gov.uk/sensors. I have no plans to make a statement about this programme.

Smart South West

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK Online for Business strategy is and the role played by Smart South West in promoting it; and if she will make a statement on the nature of Smart South West's relationship with business in the region.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 22 October 2002
	The aim of UK online for business is to help make the UK the best place in the world for e-business, with an extensive and competitive broadband market judged using international comparative measures of business uptake and use of information and communication technology (ICT). This will be achieved by assisting companies, through the provision of advice, tools and content, to achieve greater productivity and competitiveness through the deeper, more integrated use of ICT.
	As part of the programme, a UK online for business champion has been appointed for each region and Devolved Administration. The champions work with the RDAs, Business Link Organisations and other regional bodies, helping to facilitate activity that will contribute to the achievement of the targets. The champion for the South West is Colin Bluck, who although Executive Director of Smart South West, performs the role of champion in an individual capacity. Smart South West as an organization is one of over 400 partners with whom we seek to work to promote the use of ICT to business.
	I am not in a position to comment on the nature of Smart South West's relationship with business in the region.

Steel Industry

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support and assistance she will provide to the UK steel industry in response to the introduction of US tariffs.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government supported the European Commission's robust response in pursuing WTO action and took the lead in pressing for EU safeguard action to protect the UK and EU steel industry against diversion of trade. The Government have also actively supported UK companies in their efforts to secure product exclusions from the US measures and will continue to do so. To date, 70 per cent. of UK steel exports are not covered by the US tariff increases.
	The Government can only provide support to the steel sector within the strict aid criteria rules that apply to the sector. We continue to provide financial support to the sector representatives for initiatives designed to improve competitiveness.

Wind Turbines

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact decommissioning nuclear sources will have on the number of wind turbines which will be needed in the British Isles.

Brian Wilson: Energy security and taking action on climate change are key issues for the Energy White Paper which will be published in the new year. The role of nuclear and renewables, including wind power, will be included in the White Paper. The policies and measures in the Government's climate change programme should deliver our Kyoto commitment even with the current planned closure programme for the nuclear stations between now and 2010.

Wind Turbines

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the number of wind turbines which will be needed in the British Isles to meet the Kyoto commitments on sustainable energy.

Brian Wilson: The policies and measures in the Government's climate change programme should deliver our Kyoto emissions commitment. The climate change programme includes policies and measures impacting on all sectors of the economy and society, which seek to reduce emissions attributable both to the production of energy, and to its consumption.
	Measures to reduce emissions attributable to energy production include the Renewables Obligation, which places an obligation on electricity suppliers to source a rising proportion of their total sales from eligible renewable sources. Our target is that 10 per cent. of licensed electricity supplies will be generated from eligible renewable sources by 2010. Wind power will make an important contribution to this target, as will other renewable sources of electricity. Achieving this target could result in an estimated saving of around 2.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2010.
	This expansion of renewable energy is however just one part of the Government's wider climate change programme. Other initiatives include for example the climate change levy on conventional fuels and the UK emissions trading scheme which affect the business sector. In the domestic sector, the new Energy Efficiency Commitment places new obligations on gas and electricity suppliers to make energy efficiency improvements; there are also new requirements on local authorities to make proposals to achieve energy efficiency gains; and the #600 million home energy efficiency scheme provides grants for home insulation and heating improvements to improve energy savings. On transport, there is the EU-level agreements with the car manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency in new cars, backed by changes in UK vehicle taxation through company car tax and vehicle excise duty, together with the infrastructure investment in the 10-year plan to tackle congestion and pollution.
	As my hon. Friend may know, energy efficiency was one of the key areas highlighted in the PIU review of energy policy. The Government support an increasing role for energy efficiency and is formulating a response to be published in the White Paper around the turn of the year. The role of renewables will also be included in the White Paper.

TRANSPORT

Air Travel in 2030

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 22nd October 2002, Official Report, columns 157–58W, on air passengers, if he will estimate the forecast for air travel in 2030 based on a 1 per cent. per annum increase in air fares in real terms over the forecasting period.

David Jamieson: The forecasts of air traffic demand for 2030, published in XThe Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East", assumed a 1 per cent. per annum reduction in air fares in real fares. The resulting forecasts of unconstrained passenger demand for 2030 were 501 million passengers nationally and 301 million passengers in the south-east.

Central Railway Project

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Central Railway project.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 October 2002, Official Report, column 304W to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan).

Headlight Glare

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the effect of the planting of foliage on the central reservations of UK motorways on reducing headlight glare from other carriageways.

David Jamieson: Planting and maintenance of foliage in the central reserve creates safety risks to road workers, and can cause congestion for travellers, without offering any additional safety benefits. On this basis, planting foliage in the central reservations of motorways is not favoured except where the central reservation is very wide. Headlight glare is very rarely a factor in motorway accidents.

Motorised Wheelchairs

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it compulsory for users of motorised wheelchairs to hold third party liability insurance.

David Jamieson: Insurance for users of motorised wheelchairs and scooters is currently not compulsory but is strongly recommended. We are planning to review the legal framework governing both the construction and use of such vehicles in the near future and the issue of whether insurance should be compulsory will be among those on which we will be seeking views.

Rail Passenger Partnership

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has made available for the Rail Passenger Partnership since 2000; and how much was spent in rural areas in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date.

David Jamieson: The Rail Passenger Partnership (RPP) scheme was launched in 1999 with a budget of #105 million over three years. In December 2001 the Strategic Rail Authority re-launched RPP with a budget of #400 million until 2010–11.
	It is not possible to give a precise figure for the amount spent exclusively in rural areas, as many of the schemes for which funding has been awarded by the SRA are of benefit to rural and non-rural areas. In the financial year 2000–01, some #271,000 was awarded for schemes containing a rural element. In 2001–02 the figure was just under #1.1 million. The projected figure for 2002–03 is some #2.3 million.

Rail Services

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish figures for the punctuality and reliability of rail services operated by (a) Central trains and (b) Wales and Borders trains through Telford Central station over the last 12 months.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority publish performance statistics for all train operating companies in their six monthly XOn Track" publication. The figures for each operator are not broken down to route level, but reflect the performance of their services in aggregate. The most recent edition was published on 6 June. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Self-loading Lorries

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maximum (a) length and (b) load is of lorries with on-board, self-loading crane equipment under the Construction and Use Regulations.

David Jamieson: The maximum overall length of a lorry or combination of lorry and trailer is set out in the table. Where a self-loading crane is fitted, it is exempt from the calculation of overall length if attached at the rear of the lorry or at the rear of the combination of lorry and trailer. In all other cases it is included in the calculation of overall length.
	The maximum gross weight that these vehicles may operate at is set out in the table. The limits are contained in the Road Vehicles (Authorised Weight) Regulations 1998 and are dependent on the vehicles type and configuration.
	
		
			 Vehicle type Maximum overall length (metres) Maximum weight (tonnes) 
		
		
			 2 axle rigid 12 18 
			 3 axle rigid 12 25/(27) 26 
			 4 axle rigid 12 30/(27) 32 
			 3 axle articulated 16.5 26 
			 4 axle articulated 16.5 (27) 38 
			 5 axle articulated 16.5 40 
			 6 axle articulated 16.5 (27) 44 
			 3 axle road train (rigid vehicle towing a draw bar trailer) 18.75 26 
			 4 axle road train 18.75 26 
			 5 axle road train 18.75 (27) 40 
			 6 axle road train 18.75 (27) 44 
		
	
	(27) Subject to certain suspension/tyre/axle load requirements being met.

TREASURY

Private Finance Initiative

Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many PFI and PPP schemes have been (a) completed and (b) signed in (i) each of the regions of England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales, broken down by department.

Paul Boateng: A region-by-region breakdown of the number and total capital value of English PFI and PPP projects, both signed and completed, will be published in a series of forthcoming Treasury publications, entitled"Public Private Partnerships: helping to deliver public services". One such booklet is being prepared for each English region. The booklets will be published by 30 November 2002, and copies will be deposited in the House of Commons Library.
	The number and capital value of both signed and completed Scottish PFI projects, along with a departmental breakdown, is published by the Scottish Executive on their website. (The number of projects signed and completed is listed at http:// www.scotland.gov.uk/pfi/facts-01 .asp, while a department-by-departmentlist is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pfi/projectjist.xls.)
	A list of Welsh PFI and PPP projects, both completed deals and deals in procurement, including capital values, is published by the National Assembly for Wales on their website. (This can be found at http://www.pfu.wales.gov.uk/scripts/pfilist.asp.)

Departmental Job Vacancies

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many non-devolved posts were advertised in the press in each year since June 1999; and what percentage of them were advertised in the Scottish press.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 24 October 2002
	The information for HM Treasury is as follows:
	Information on the number of posts advertised in 1999 is unavailable. Between January 2000 and October 2002, a total of 296 Xnon-devolved" posts were advertised by HM Treasury in the national press and specialist publications where appropriate. Since 2001 adverts have also been placed on the HM Treasury website. None of the posts were advertised in the Scottish press.
	
		Number of posts advertised by the Treasury in the national press each year since January 2000
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 January-December 2000 71 
			 January-December 2001 159 
			 January-October 2002 66 
			 Total 296

Economic Cycle

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the duration of the current economic cycle.

Ruth Kelly: Budget 2002 (HC 592) included an assessment of cyclical developments, in particular on pages 26 and 190–93.

EU Budget

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate EU member states' contributions to the EU budget in terms of (a) net contributions and (b) per capita contributions since the United Kingdom joined the EU.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested, for the period 1976 to 2001, is set out in the tables, copies of which will be placed in the Library. These tables are shown in million euro (net contributions) and euro (net contributions per capita). Information on member states net positions for the period 1973 to 1975 is not available.

EU Structural and Cohesion Funds

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the annual UK receipts from European Community Structural and Cohesion Funds from 1995 and the projected receipts for 2003 and 2004.

Ruth Kelly: Details of UK receipts from Structural Operations for the period 1995–96 to 2001–02 are set out in the table.
	
		
			 Year # billion 
		
		
			 1995–96 1.136 
			 1996–97 1.392 
			 1997–98 1.558 
			 1998–99 0.912 
			 1999–2000 1.213 
			 2000–01 1.444 
			 2001–02 0.664 
		
	
	Latest forecasts of receipts from Structural Operations for the period 2002–03 to 2004–05 are as follows.
	
		
			 Year # billion 
		
		
			 2002–03 1.3 
			 2003–04 1.7 
			 2004–05 1.5

Health Care Charges

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of health care systems funded by charges and private medical insurance; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: Detailed information on alternative systems for financing health care was published as part of the results of the review carried out by Derek Wanless on long term trends affecting the health service in the UK.
	In presenting this year's budget to Parliament, the Chancellor set out the Government's view that Xthe NHS system of funding is not just the most equitable but that a reformed NHS, by offering the most comprehensive insurance policy to meet the rising costs from medical advances, can give British people the greater security they need".

Income Tax Revenue

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total income tax revenue was in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest figures are contained in Table 1.2 on Inland Revenue's website www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/tax—receipts/menu.htm

Pensions

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of people reaching retirement age in each of the last 10 years had private self-employed pensions;
	(2)  how many holders of private pension funds have taken tax-free lump sums in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many people contributed to private self-employed pension funds in each of the last 10 years.

Ruth Kelly: Available information that can be provided without disproportionate cost is in the table.
	
		
			 Year Number of self-employed contributors to private pension funds (000)(28) 
		
		
			 1996–97 1,620 
			 1997–98 1,630 
			 1998–99 1,560 
			 1999–2000 1,560 
			 2000–01 1,480 
		
	
	(28) Estimates are based on the surveys of personal incomes 1996–97 to 2000–01 and include contributors to both Personal Pensions and Retirement Annuity Contracts.

Performance Targets

Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what source data was used to support the statistic cited in his Department's 2002 departmental report that 87 per cent. of main departments' performance targets had been met or partially met by 2002.

Paul Boateng: The figure was based on departments' assessments of their performance against their targets, as published in departmental reports.

Personal Pensions

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what protections exist under the FSA review of personal pension sales in circumstances where a financial loss was recompensed through augmentation of an investor's policy and that policy has subsequently had (a) a market value adjustment reduction applied and (b) a transfer or exit penalty applied.

Ruth Kelly: The aim of the pensions review is to provide adequate compensation (where it is due) to investors, at the time of the review. In this respect, the pensions review seeks to replicate the approach a court of law would take to working out compensation when dealing with a claim for damages.
	If a firm has provided adequate compensation to an investor, in accordance with the regulatory requirements, any subsequent gains or losses that occur fall outside the scope of the review as the firm would have fulfilled its obligations under the review.

Personal Pensions

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance and regulations the Financial Services Authority has issued to personal pension providers under the FSA review of personal pension sales in circumstances where a guarantee of a future calculation of possible financial loss has been favoured over immediate financial recompense being made to a policyholder, with respect to (a) calculation and payment of transfer values in respect of a guaranteed policy and (b) reflection of such guaranteed liabilities by personal pension providers for (i) accounting, (ii) financial statement and (iii) regulatory purposes.

Ruth Kelly: A benefit guarantee is a guarantee by a life office to an investor to mirror or provide benefits of equivalent value to those that the investor would have had in the occupational scheme, which he opted out of or failed to join. Benefits become payable when an investor dies, retires, or transfers the pension to another company.
	In respect of (a), investors who wish to transfer their policy away from the firm must be provided with a full transfer value quotation, which fairly reflects the presence of the guarantee.
	In respect of (b), (i) and (ii), there is no guidance which requires firms to reflect their guarantee liabilities separately in their accounts or financial statements. Instead, when reporting their entire pensions review provisions firms will include their guarantee liabilities. In respect of (b) (iii), a firm must give an undertaking to the FSA that its reserving basis for the guarantee is adequate, does not compromise its solvency position and will conform with the requirements of its prudential regulator. The Government Actuary issued guidance to appointed actuaries on the reserving implications of guaranteeing pension benefits linked to individual salaries. This guidance is incorporated within Volume Three of the IPRU (INS) rulebook under the heading DAA9.

Private Finance Initiative

Andrew Turner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the aggregate liability of public funds for PFI schemes concluded in each year since 1997.

Paul Boateng: Detailed figures setting out estimates of future payments to be made under PFI contracts are published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report each year. Table C19 of Budget 2002 includes the latest projections of estimated payments for services provided under the Private Finance Initiative for the years 2002–03 to 2027–28.
	In line with past practice, I expect to update these figures shortly.

Private Finance Initiative

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the capital value of PFI schemes concluded in each year since 1997.

Paul Boateng: Estimates of capital investment by the private sector in support of PFI projects (both signed and those at preferred bidder) are published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report each year. Tables C17 and C18 of Budget 2002 include the latest projections of capital expenditure by the private sector under the private finance initiative, broken down by department, for 2002–03 to 2004–05. In line with past practice, I expect to update these figures shortly.

Savings Gateway and Baby Bond

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation has taken place regarding the introduction of a (a) baby bond and (b) savings gateway; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: Proposals for the Child Trust Fund and Saving Gateway were launched in April 2001 in the consultation document entitled XSaving and Assets for All". A follow up consultation document entitled XDelivering Saving and Assets" was published in November 2001. XDelivering Saving and Assets" reported back on the responses received in the first round of consultation, announced proposals to launch pilots for the Saving Gateway and raised more detailed questions on the delivery model for the Child Trust Fund.
	The XDelivering Saving and Assets" consultation ended on 28 February 2002. Pilots for the Saving Gateway were launched in August 2002. A statement on the development of the Child Trust Fund and Saving Gateway proposals will be included in the pre-Budget report.

Small Business (Insurance Premium Costs)

Alex Salmond: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to alleviate the effect on small businesses of increases in insurance premium costs since 11 September 2001; if he will estimate the impact of Government policy on increasing insurance costs on small businesses.

Ruth Kelly: The Government is aware of the recent rise in insurance premiums and the particular problems faced by some small businesses. The Government is working with trade associations, the insurance industry and organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses, to try and maximize the availability of affordable liability insurance cover.

Split Capital Trusts

Andrew Love: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultations have taken place with the Financial Services Authority regarding concerns over misselling of split capital trusts; and if he will make a statement,

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury is in regular contact with the FSA on a wide range of issues.

Tax Receipts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the (a) level of tax receipts and (b) estimate made at the time of the budget for (i) income tax, (ii) stamp duty, (iii) corporation tax and (iv) capital gains tax.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 29 October 2002
	The Budget estimates of net tax receipts are shown in Table C7 on page 217 of the April 2002 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

Tax Revenue

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's projected income from (a) tax revenue and (b) corporation tax revenue is for (i) the financial year 2002–03 and (ii) each of the next three financial years.

Paul Boateng: Consistent with the Code for Fiscal Stability, an interim update of projections for tax receipts will be published in the forthcoming pre-Budget Report.